I was just about the last of all my friends to become a Grandma. So for years I’ve listened to all those other Grandma’s expounding on all the special joys of Grandmotherhood. But there are some things that those other Grandma’s forgot to tell me.
They all told me that the best part of being a grandma was that when you got tired, someone else takes the baby home. What they forgot to tell me was that sometimes, even though you’re tired, you sort of wish that the baby would stay. In fact, some days you would like it if that baby would just move right in!
They all told me that the best part was watching your child become a wonderful parent. What they forgot to tell me was that sometimes, even though your child is a very wonderful parent, you have to bite your lip VERY hard so that your own (outdated, though they may be) parenting ideas and suggestions don’t come bursting out!
They all told me that the best part was getting to watch that beautiful baby learn all sorts of new things.
Like maneuvering all over the house in the brand new walker that his loving grandma and grandpa picked out even though the Academy of Pediatrics strongly recommends against them. (For the record, because of the recommendations of the Academy of Pediatrics, even though I think there is nothing cuter than a baby sound asleep on her tummy with her little butt up in the air, I always, always put James and Zoe to sleep on their backs. And, even though sometimes, it felt a bit chilly in their bedrooms, I never, never cover them up with even the lightest of blankets.) (and furthermore, for the record, we did pick out a walker with all sorts of safety mechanisms, including a stair brake and extra wide sides to prevent babies from going through doors.)
Just like those other Grandma’s said, it’s been great fun watching Baby James streak around the ground floor of his Chicago house, shrieking at the top of his lungs from the sheer joy of movement and freedom and accomplishment!
But those other Grandma’s didn’t tell me what is the very best part of being a Grandma. The very best part of being a grandma is that sometimes, not very often, but sometimes, if you turn your head just right or just quickly enough when you hear a happy baby shriek, you catch a momentary glimpse of another much loved baby, one that was loved just as much, one that grew up a bit too quickly.
The very best part of being a Grandma is loving your child’s baby and remembering just how much you loved your own.
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