Leah St. James | Updates

Free Reads!

Leah St. James — Tue, 27 Jan 2026 14:11:56 -0500

Confession: I’m a picky reader. Although I have a number of favorite authors whose books I’ll order sight unseen, there’s nothing I love more than discovering a new favorite. But I’m still picky. I still need to sample a bit of their story-telling before I commit my money, and maybe more importantly, my time.

If you too like to sample, I invite you to check out one of my free short stories. Like my other stories, these span a range of tone and genre, from a poignant story of loss, to light (and somewhat goofy) romance, to gritty police procedural. (I never know which of my alter egos is going to appear when I start writing!)

Please click here to go to the download page via StoryOrigin. Whatever you choose, I hope you enjoy!

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Absence Makes the Heart Break

Leah St. James — Sat, 4 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Subtitle: Thank Goodness for Video Technology

Recently hubby and I took a “Spring Break” while our teacher son (the twins’ father) was on school break. We took the opportunity to make the dreaded trek from Virginia up Interstate 95 to New Jersey where our younger son, his wife and their daughter (Lacey) live.

It had been three months since we saw them, which is a blink of the eye for us, but when you’re five months old, like Lacey, it’s three-fifths of your life! So I wasn’t expecting her to be completely comfortable with us right off the bat. The good news is that she was happy to let us sit with her and play with her. (I think we sang every baby/nursery song we know…several times!) She just didn’t want us holding her, at all!

Aside from telling myself repeatedly that this is normal behavior for a five-month-old infant, I reminded myself that her daddy (my son) wouldn’t let anyone near him until he was well into toddler-hood. He wouldn’t even let my sister babysit, and she saw him all the time. So Lacey gets her standoffish-nesh honestly!

It wasn’t just hard on us. It was hard on our son and daughter-in-law who had been looking forward to seeing their little one interact with grandparents who don’t get to see her often. (And they might have even wanted to sneak off by themselves for lunch or something….didn’t happen.)

It was hard to say goodbye when it was time to leave. But we made a plan to use technology to help Lacey stay acquainted with at least our faces and voices. A couple times a week we video call each other so hubby and I can talk baby-talk to Lacey, tell her how beautiful she is, how much we miss her, and how much we love her.

Will it help? I figure it can’t hurt! We’ll find out later this month when we make another trip north. Wish us luck!

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Grandparenting 101

Leah St. James — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

When my son and daughter-in-law first shared the news they were expecting twins, they said, “We’re going to need your help.”

I thought, Well, yeah, who wouldn’t? I didn’t allow myself to dwell on what that meant, happy to live in the pre-birth moments of anticipatory joy. Besides, I knew my husband and I would do whatever we could to help after the babies were born.

Then a friend of mine, also an expectant grandma, told me about a grandparenting class that was offered by a hospital near her. “It’s a ton of great information, Leah. Things have changed since our kids were little.”

That got my attention. Attention morphed into near panic. I hadn’t changed a diaper in more than 30 years! I wasn’t up to date on all the safety issues – like sleeping positions, what and when to feed them. Would I be able to wrestle them into the new style of car seats?

Multiply that by two (twins!) and my anxiety was building.

Luckily, I was able to sign up for a grandparenting class, taught by a grandma who was an RN. The most valuable piece of information she gave us: You are not the parent. Don’t give unsolicited advice. If something bothers you, you could say, “What does your pediatrician think about that?” (FYI, I've never had to use the line.)

The most frightening thing she shared: Sobering statistics about the percentage of accidents that occur when the baby is in the grandparents’ care. Uh….good to know. Yikes.

She also had samples of some really cool utensils and other techniques today’s parents have available. For example, a lot of today’s babies start on solid foods with…solid foods, like bite-sized pieces, not pureed versions like my kids did. That one freaked me out. Picture me poised to leap into action to fish chunks of food out of their mouths!

Happy, while hubby and I have both fished things from their mouths, none of the instances have been emergencies, and none due to menu choice!

In fact, my worries about diapering and the rest were quickly put to rest in that first second I held them, shortly after birth

Since then, we’ve spent most weekdays with the girls. We’ve had the joy of experiencing many of their “firsts” (or near first moments) – from rolling over to tummy crawls to first steps. We’ve learned their unique personalities and their many differences in preferences, from food choices to sock-wearing.

Now that they're toddlers, we spend hours playing peek-a-boo, dancing, singing, reading (a lot), building and knocking down block towers, running through the house (a toddler version of hide-and-seek), and so much more. There isn't a day without laughter and joy.

In short, every day is a blessing.

Now, if someone would invent a transporter (à la Star Trek!) so we could get to New Jersey (and granddaughter number three!) in the blink of an eye, my life would be perfect.

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A Step Back in Time - The Announcements!

Leah St. James — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Before we move forward, a tale of how our kids duped us! (Although to be honest, it doesn't take much to dupe me!)

It was late December 2023. My older son called -- a rarity since he usually texts -- asking if he and his wife could stop over. He said they had purchased something techie for us for Christmas, and she wanted to set it up for us. (She's really good at that stuff.)

"Of course," I said. "Come on over whenever you want. We're home."

It wasn't long before they arrived, box in hand. As they unpacked, it was clear it was one of those digital frames. How cool! I thought.

Once setup was complete, images began to rotate through. As we looked at pictures of the dog, the cats, my son and his wife, I was trying to stay focused. Then an unmistakable image of white blobs on a gray background...an ultrasound! Of a pregnancy!

My husband and I jumped up, laughing, crying, hopping, hugging. The parents-to-be jumped up, laughing, crying, hugging. Finally we settled back down, and my DIL (daughter-in-law), said, "Did you see the caption?"

Caption? I looked at the image: WE will see you in August! I nodded.

"Did you notice it said 'WE will see you in August?'"

I nodded again, still clueless. By now she was looking at me like my brain was addled. 'WE will see you in August? ... WE???!!!"

I blinked a few times until my brain recalibrated. "You mean...there's more than one?"

"Yes! Twins!"

I looked at the image again. Two distinct blob areas, one larger than the other. "I wondered what the two blobs meant!" (How embarrassed should I be that I had read the "we" as the royal we? Like we, as a family, will see you in August! ... Don't answer that!)

Turns out the images were front and back, which is why one was larger. The one in the front was labeled Baby A (Lilah), and the one in the back Baby B (Alicia_. Since there were two sacs, they were fraternal, not identical. Thank goodness for that! (I still recall the anxiety of trying to differentiate between twins Krissy and Kathy in elementary school!)

The wait for them to be born felt like forever, but time did pass, and our girls are now healthy, happy toddlers who have developed distinct preferences in food, clothing and more.

Now step foward in time, to April 2025.

My husband and I were visiting our younger son and his wife where they live in southerns New Jersey. Her parents and brother were joining us to celebrate my DIL's birthday.

"Before we do anything," she said, "we want everyone to have a seat."

After we complied, she handed out a wrapped package to each of us. "Now everyone open at once."

I opened my page to find a pretty blue, long-sleeved T-shirt with "Grandma Leah" printed on the front. My husband had a baseball cap with his grandpa name embroidered on the front.

"Oh, how nice!" I said, holding up my shirt. How thoughtful of them to honor my love of the twins, I thought. I briefly wondered what they were giving her parents, since they hadn't yet been blessed with grandchildren. (See? Clueless.)

After we'd opened our gifts, me ignoring her parents' gifts, my DIL moved in front of us and held up a sheet of paper. It was divided into three sections, all pretty much identical...all revealing (you guessed it) an ultrasound image ... another baby!

More jumping and hugging. More texting family and friends. More joy over this wonderful news.

Again the waiting was interminable, but Lacey was born healthy and perfect...with so much hair! She is now almost four months old and has the most expressive face! I miss her more every day.

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Answered Prayers

Leah St. James — Tue, 27 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

As a mom to two brilliant and successful sons who are married to wonderful (brilliant, accomplished, lovely) women, I’d been wanting a grandchild for a long time. I’ve never been one to push my wants on others, though, so I kept my wishes private (at least with my kids), and prayed that if it was their choice and God’s will, to bless my children with children of their own.

Flash forward…I am now the grandma to twin girls, born to our older son and his wife in July 2024 – I’ll call them Lilah and Alicia. My husband and I are blessed to spend our days with them while their parents work. Sometimes those days can be a little long for all of us, but we're lucky because our days are filled with joy, laughter and so much love for our little girls. We wouldn’t change a thing.

A year and three months later, we welcomed granddaughter number three (I'll call her Lacey) to the family — thanks to our younger son and his wife! They live about a five-hour drive from us (up the dreaded Interstate 95), so I’ve been a bit blue that we won’t be seeing this baby as much. But I've treasured every moment so far, and I’m determined to use every bit of technology and time available to be as much a part of her life as we are with the twins.

In this blog, I’ll be sharing some of the fun things that happen from day to day. I hope my fellow grandparents will relate to what we’re going through, maybe get a laugh or two or offer some advice!

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