FanStory.com - Jessica's Storyby Sarah Robin

"Grandma, since you live by yourself, don't you think I should come live with you?" These words came from my beautiful, brown-eyed seven year old, Jessica. Actually, her eyes aren't brown. They are chocolate, like Hershey kisses, and we are the chocolate sisters. Jessica lives in Maryland, about 6 hours from here, so I only get to see her several times a year. But, the bond between us is pure love.

I fell in love with her the day she was born. She looked so much like my own children - a wee cherub with a ruddy complexion and bright eyes. The slightest cry sounded like "Hello Grandma!" to me. It was probably a good thing she lived so far away because she would never have been put on the floor long enough to learn to walk.

When her parents brought her to my house for a visit, I made sure I could spend time with her. We took long walks, looking at rocks and flowers along the way. And we read books to each other. On one of our shopping trips, she tried on a dress that she said made her look more beautiful than Cinderella. Of course we bought it.

When she was four, we lost grandpa to a sudden heart attack. Grief overwhelmed us. On my next visit to Maryland, Jessica asked if
we could get our tennis shoes and take a walk. As we ambled along the streets in her neighborhood, the healing began for me. Her questions included "How do you go to heaven if you get buried in the ground?" and "How deep was that hole?" I found out later that I was the only person who she trusted to answer these questions.

Her baby brother, Alec was born in August the next year. When I arrived to meet him, Jessica asked if I would please take her home with me. I saw a look in her eyes that told me she needed to know she wasn't replaced in my heart. We spent the entire day together, shopping and visiting. I told her that I had two little brothers and I shared some funny stories of life with her now grown uncles. We both agreed that our hearts were big enough to love others.

Jess asked her dad if he had lived at my house when he was a little boy. When he said he had, she said "That must have been wonderful." My son and I have a conspiracy that he will not tell her that life wasn't as wonderful as she thinks. And so when Jessica asked if she could come live with me, I replied, "Your parents would miss you so much that they would be back to get you the next day. Let's make every minute we have together special."

Being a grandparent takes love to a whole new level. My son watches his children and me carefully. He knows that some day he will have grands and will be rewarded for his silence. The circle of love is complete.