The wonder of Connor

I’m sure you’ll agree that our most important memories center on family.

While I relish the times when I received recognition for my work, and will never forget how good it felt to drive home a brand new car I always dreamed of owning, my most treasured memories are of the people I love most.

As I write this column, I am on my way home from Wisconsin after spending a few days with my first grandchild — Connor Daniel Mathes — born July 29 to my son, Andy, and daughter-in-law, Erin.

I left their home with memories that will forever be at the top of my most cherished list.

Holding Connor in my arms and gently rocking him against my chest was déjà vu – transporting me back 27 years to when his father was born. Andy was my firstborn, and those memories of his first few days came flooding back as I embraced his son.

I imagine every mother who holds her grandchild for the first time wonders how it is possible that the newborn they held in their arms as a young women is now the mother or father of the grandchild she is holding today.

For me it was not so much a question of where did the time go, but the realization that my lineage will continue on, and that this new grandchild may someday be holding a grandchild of his own.

Of course, I am sad that Andy, Erin and Connor live so far from my home in Land O’ Lakes. But, I am happy they are close to Erin’s family in Wisconsin, and are less than five hours from my family in Minnesota.

Even though the distance to Florida is far, I know Connor will grow up with a connection to his Grandma Diane that will be just as strong as those he has with his grandparents in Wisconsin.

And I know this because I raised my children in Florida, 1,600 miles from their grandparents in Minnesota. Andy and his sister, Rachel, have always been as close to their grandparents as their cousins who grew up seeing them every few weeks.

I learned when my children were very young that kids have an intuitive, powerful connection to their relatives, no matter where they live. It didn’t matter that Andy and Rachel only saw their Minnesota grandparents two or three times a year. Because when they did, their connection was immediate, and their love was undeniable.

While I’m celebrating the arrival of Connor, I have four siblings who are also welcoming grandchildren this year. Remarkably, between January and September, there are six great-grandchildren being born — five rambunctious little boys (Steele, Billy, Connor, Langston and Louis) and one sweet girl (Lucy).

Can you imagine the mayhem at my father’s this Christmas when all six of these babies come together for the holidays?

It will be an occasion that will be forever implanted in the memories of four generations of Kortuses.

And when those babies grow up and look at photos of themselves and their five cousins, they, too, will marvel at the power of family and be proud that that they are one of the six great-grandchildren born into our family during the first nine months of 2015.

Published August 12, 2015