I started teaching Sunday School again the first Sunday that we were back in Sedgewick. The children in my class are in grades 1 and 2. Last week, on Easter Sunday, we talked about our treasures. Each child drew a picture of something that they treasure and then told us what it was and why it’s special to them. One little boy drew a dinosaur tooth from the gift shop at the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller. A little girl chose a doll given to her by her grandmother. After each of the children had taken a turn, one of them asked me what my treasure is. Without hesitation, I told them that my treasures are my grandsons, Andrew and Ayumu.

Biologically, I have only one grandson (not counting the unborn grandchild whose gender is not yet known) but in my heart, I have two. Andrew was born to our daughter and her husband on May 1st of last year. We’ll soon be joining them to celebrate his first birthday. Ayumu was born in Japan on the 14th of June. How he became my grandson is a story that thrills my heart.

Like many church-goers, we are creatures of habit and we tend to sit in the same part of the church every week. In Japan, we sat on the right hand side of the sanctuary every Sunday but one. On about the third Sunday that we were there, an usher directed us toward the left side and I ended up sitting next to a young woman who was clearly pregnant. I don’t believe in coincidences. I truly believe that we were where we were for a reason as it was in that spot that an amazing relationship began. Seiko and I began to talk. I learned that she was due at the same time as our daughter, Melaina, and that like Melaina, she was also carrying a boy. I told her that as I watched her baby grow, I’d be able to imagine my grandson and the stages that he would be going through. After knowing me for only a few minutes, Seiko told me that her son would be my Japanese grandson and that is truly what he has become. The first time she put him in my arms, she called me Granma!

Though the due dates were the same, the boys were born 6 weeks apart. Andrew, also known as Drew, arrived early and Ayumu, or Amu-chan, came late. This seems to have been a precursor to their personalities which are also quite different. Andrew has never seemed content to be a baby. Climbing and walking at an early age and insisting on feeding himself long before he was really able to, he is a strong willed little character who is determined to challenge his physical world. Amu-chan, on the other hand, is a gentle spirit. He loves to sing along when Seiko sings and her father says that his long fingers were made for playing the cello just like his mother and grandfather.

During his early months, we knew Andrew only through photos, videos and Melaina’s regular reports. He was almost 11 months old when we finally met in person. I worried that he might be shy with us but Melaina had shown him our pictures and he had heard our voices when we talked with her. Amazingly, when we met, it was as if he already knew us. Now it is Amu-chan whose progress we must follow from a distance. I hope that he, too, will know us when we meet again. It is also my heart’s desire that our two treasures might someday meet one another!

Andrew

Amu-chan