When Joy Comes Quietly

When Joy Comes Quietly

Originally written: Mother’s Day 2019

I was quietly sipping my coffee, content in the stillness of the morning. It was Mother’s Day—one I had expected to pass with a gentle nod to my role as “Mom,” but nothing more.

Just weeks earlier, my husband and I had shared a hard, honest conversation. I had admitted that I didn’t carry the deep longing so many women seem to have about becoming a grandparent. Not because I lacked love—but because it simply wasn’t my dream. My children lived far away, and I never envisioned that traditional relationship everyone seemed to expect.

Then the phone rang.

“Mom, are you sitting down?”
It was Tait—my youngest. The one who left the nest with a bold heart and fire in his bones (not unlike me). My heart froze, bracing for something serious. But what came instead was… everything.

He told me he had secretly married his bride months earlier. I smiled—classic Tait—and assured him I wasn’t mad. It’s his life to live, after all.

Then came the pause.
“Mom… you’re going to be a Grandma.”

Seven words.
Seven life-changing, heart-flipping, soul-sparking words.
I didn’t expect it. But I fell in love with that tiny, unseen life the moment I heard those words. My heart knew something new was beginning. And just like that—I became Mimi.

There’s so much more to share about this unexpected journey: the joys, the questions, the quiet wonder. But today, I’m just remembering that beautiful morning when joy tiptoed into my heart and made itself at home.

What’s one unexpected moment that shifted your heart in the best way? Write it down. Stitch it into memory.