Ugghhh. I hate good-byes, so I will do my best to be brief.

Sixteen years ago, Papa and I learned that we would become grandparents in a few short months. We are kid people at heart, and we knew our world was about to be rocked, and it was. Our grandson, Rylan, arrived and became the center of our universe. He had a mass of dark hair and brown eyes, and even as an infant, he seemed serious, curious, and calm. As I gazed at him through the window at Touro, I couldn’t imagine him as the strapping teen–almost man–that he is today.

Nearly three years after Rylan’s birth, Amelia arrived with wispy, dirty blonde hair and fair skin. She’s proved to have a quiet confidence, is highly creative and a bit more fiery than her brother. As I held her delicate frame that first time, I knew that someone beautiful and special had arrived, and I was right.

Through these 16 years of grandparenting, I’ve written about the joys of being a grandmother. And yes, I’ve learned a lot from these two great kids. 

Rylan and Amelia have taught me that being a grandmother is, hands down, the best job in the whole world. They’ve taught me that I thought I knew everything about love–after all, I’ve been married to my great love for 48 years and I have two adult kids I adore. But grandchildren take love to a whole new level. I am pathetically and hopelessly in love with them.

You, the readers, have taught me a lot as well. You’ve taught me to be observant of everything the grandkids–and their amazing cousins and friends–say and do. Everything is fodder for the next Hip Grannie. Until now.

Rylan and Amelia are now teenagers and deserve their well-earned privacy. It’s time for this grandmother to let her little birds fly, without the fear–and horror–of reading about their lives in the next Nola Family. It’s time for them to be who they are meant to be, although I am pretty sure the sky’s the limit for these two, and I can’t wait to see what they do.

Thank you for reading Hip Grannie these many years and for your sweet comments about the column, my grandkids, and family. Whether you know it or not, you too, have become part of our family, and we all are better for it.