5 years ago today, Alexander Dimitri entered our lives on the most lovely September 28th in the entire history of the world.  I know this because the sun was shining so beautifully that day, and the sun has been following Alex every day since.  The sun follows Alex.  He is radiance and joy and light and delight.  He is life and LOVE and smiles and giant blue eyes and kindness and more kindness and generosity and…  and then more light and more delight.  Boundless happiness.  You know the lyrics… You are my sunshine… You make me happy when skies are gray.  That’s Alex.

Alex is color and art and music and dance.  He is water and fire and earth and air.  He is heart and soul and height and depth.  Alex is one gigantic hug… and I will treasure always that I was there at the moment of his birth… to see him come into this glorious world and to hold him and hug him from the very, very beginning.  Audrey and Matthew gave me this gift of gifts… a last moment decision.  I was in the waiting room of the maternity floor of Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City on that beautiful day, waiting, waiting, waiting all day… things were going a little slowly… and Barry, Jane and I were entertaining William, who had just turned 1 three days earlier…. and morning had turned into afternoon and afternoon had turned into evening… and our little visits to Audrey and Matt’s room had been happy and wonderful… but when was Alexander Dimitri going to make his appearance?  We knew Alexander Dimitri was Alexander Dimitri… Dimitri to honor Matt’s best friend, who had died 10 months earlier while serving our country in Iraq.  We couldn’t have know way back then that we’d call him Ally and Allo and Al and Ally Bedally and Alex and all kinds of cool nicknames.  We couldn’t have known that Ally would have the greatest smile, the most dazzling eyes and enthusiasm beyond anything imaginable.  We didn’t know that he would love to draw and love the alphabet and want to wear a “handsome shirt” each and every day.  I couldn’t have known on the day of his birth that Matt would call my cell phone at the last minute and tell me that Audrey wanted me to be there… in the delivery room… and in I went… to watch my own beautiful daughter as she gave birth to her second little boy… the most miraculous moment I have ever experienced.  Me.  My grandson.  One moment.  A miracle.

I watched as Alexander was washed and swaddled.  And then I held him.  Right in the delivery room.  From the very beginning.

Not a day has passed in these 5 years that Alex hasn’t given me and the world the same feeling of joy… the feeling of life’s blessings… the feeling of LIFE and LOVE as they should be.

Our Alexander Dimitri turns 5 today.  He wanted RED and GREEN balloons and a donut cake from Allie’s Donuts in North Kingstown.  Pop-up’s pancakes.  And special pajamas from Pop-up and me that have something to do with Luigi of the Mario/Luigi Brothers!  Alex even let his little 2-year old brother Henry wear his Alex-Luigi pajamas because Henry wanted to. These things make Ally happy…

And Ally makes the world happy.  Every moment of every day.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MY BEAUTIFUL ALLY… my little buddy.  My little wonder.  My pure joy.  My sunshine. Love forever, Grandma xoxox!!!!!