When I was an elementary school teacher, the first grade teachers in our building had an annual tradition of celebrating the 100th day of school with their students. Although I never practiced this tradition as a teacher, I now have reason to observe it for 
a different reason…. as a new grandpa.
Tuesday, April 3, marks Julian’s 100th day with us. (I unashamedly admit that I’ve become the typical proud, doting grandparent, even though admitting this means I have to eat a lot of crow.)
The truth, though, is that I LOVE being a grandpa, a fact which comes as a complete, but pleasant, surprise to me.
My daily ministry schedule usually doesn’t start until late afternoon (after the Polish kids get out of school). This leaves late morning / early afternoon open to help care for Julian. Marta is very open to me being a part of Julian’s mid-day care, and for me, it has become my absolute favorite part of the day.
I don’t have many pictures of me with Julian (it seems that I am usually the one taking the pictures, instead of being in them). However, the rest of this newsletter will give a brief pictorial glimpse of Julian and Grandpa Jim’s first 100 days together. It’s all pretty typical stuff, but for me, having a newborn baby in the house is a new and truly wonderful experience.
As many of you already know, Julian was diagnosed with pneumonia at three weeks old. He spent eight days in the hospital, with Daniel, Marta, and Grandpa Jim sharing the responsibility of Julian’s 24-hour bedside care. The time in the hospital was pretty stressful for all of us.
For me, the main source of my stress came from seeing Julian hurting so much, without being able to adequately comfort him or ease his pain. It was such a relief to finally have Julian back home with us…….truly a moment to celebrate. I have no doubt that your many prayers made a significant difference for us. I once again want to thank all of you for your faithful care and support.
Since then, I’ve had plenty of practice changing diapers. We use a make shift changing table because the older couch that we were using “broke,” (unsupported middle front frame snapped in two). We recycled it.
The plan from the beginning was for me to only speak English to Julian, with this hopefully resulting in him being bi-lingual right from the start. To help this process, Julian and Grandpa Jim read books together almost every day (in English, of course). We also pray and sing together, as well.
Jim reading to Julian.
Since I never had kids of my own, simply holding Julian while rocking together is a joy deeper than I’ve ever known.
Thanks for 100 days of your love and prayers in support of Julian and his family.
Jim LaRose
