The truth about grandchildren
I have been a grandmother for almost 17 years. I now have 4 glorious grandchildren. I have three more that are grandchildren because my very good friend has nominated me as their grandmother. They all call me Nana and that is my favorite title of all.
From the very first moment I knew of the birth of the first grandchild, my life and my outlook on the world has changed. I have spent 17 years, a huge part of my life, trying to figure out what makes having grandchildren so special. People tell me that the blessing is that you can spoil them and then give them back to their parents. There might be some truth to that but it is not what makes you glow when you think about them, nor is it what makes you plan your time together down to the last detail. It is not what allows them to pitch a tent in your guest room that stays up for years or what causes you to turn the other way when they start a club house in your closet. I even find myself leaving the treasure boxes and the picture albums and secret notes right where they left them. I would never open the treasure box. (Well “never” is a strong word). Why is it that I give them things that I treasure just to see their eyes light up? I don’t think I did that nearly as often with my own children. The tent in the guest room and the club house in my closet would never have happened. I certainly don’t love my children any less than my grandchildren. After all, they gave me these wonderful gifts.
I think I might have figured out a little of what is going on. I am going to go to England to spend a week with three of the grandchildren. One of them is 2 years old. I love 2-year-olds. We have had a lot of stress in our lives for the past few months and I am going to play with a 2-year-old for an entire week to get rid of all my stress. Now that is a difference right there. Although I really loved having my own kids be 2 years old, they certainly did not relieve stress.
Our 17-year-old grandson is coming to visit for 2 weeks in August. My husband and I have been spending endless hours planning how we will entertain him. I am sure glad my kids had grandparents to do that for them.
The other interesting thing is how you see past generations in your grandchildren. My granddaughter reminds me of my grandmother over and over again. You expect to see yourself and your parents in your own children but when features and little bits of personality show up in your grandchildren, you really understand how you fit in the tree of life and that some part of you will go on forever. Now you just have to hope the good parts are the ones that last from generation to generation.
Unfortunately, we have no control over when grandchildren will bless our lives. I know that sometimes people feel like they must be old if they are going to be grandparents and they dread the prospect. I’ll bet they all feel young again when they get to see a tent in their guest room or secret treasures in their closet.
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