Grandparents Love – Irreplaceable

Growing up I missed out on having my mother’s parents around because they passed away before I was even thought of. As for my biological father, I met his dad briefly when I was very young. His mother, My Grandmother Jackson…I had her for some years, basically the only grandparent that I ever knew. The little time that I had with her allows me to have some fond memories to share with my cousins but I often wish that I had all of my grandparents growing up. I would love to hear the real stories on how my parents were growing up. I would love to see all the embarrassing photos that my grandparents would have taken through the years.

I love being a parent, it’s definitely the hardest job that you will ever love, but I also love being a grandmother. i jokingly say, “The best part about being a grandmother is that i can give them back when I want to and get them when I want them and not just when their parents want me to take them”. It is a wonderful feeling to see those little faces light up whenever you come around It also tears my heart up when I leave and they are crying for me on the times that I can’t take them with me.

I  am a grandmother of two busy boys, ages four and two. My oldest daughter, who is 26, blessed me with these angels. I have two younger children than her who still live at home and another child at college.

Five Reasons Having a Grandparent in a Child’s life is Important

1. The Endless Love – When these little ones come over they literally NEVER want to leave. Every time I ask them are you ready to go yet, the answer is always NO.  When I call them they will try their best to stay on the phone with me for hours if I let them, I promise I have to say bye-bye a thousand times before we are actually end the call. When they see me, their little eyes light up and they take off running to me.  Having the grandparents around gives the grandkids more people that love them, to spoil them and to comfort them when they need it. I remember my mother, while I was at work, attending Grandparents day at my oldest child’s school…when the kids saw my mother reading to my daughter, all of the kids that did not have a grandparent visit that day all gathered around my mother to hear the story. My mother had extra grandchildren on that day!

2. Insight – I get to share stories with them. Especially the ones about their mother when she was their age. Most of the things from such a young age, she doesn’t even remember, so it is a fun feeling that I get to share these stories with them. When my grandsons come over they enjoy watching home videos with me, while doing this, they get to see their mother when she was their age and a little older.

3. Trips – My oldest child works most weekends, so I get the pleasure of taking the little guys on fun trips. We don’t always have to leave the city or state for these trips.  We take most of our trips to the Park, Ice Cream Parlor, Library, and movies, to name a few. Sometimes we make an in-home imagination trip in my den. With COVID-19 still a threat, we have definitely did a lot of imagination traveling in the house and they LOVE IT. One day we mad a trip to the carnival in my back yard. We had a popcorn stand in one station, cotton candy in another station, and a face painting station. The cotton candy machine maker we got all the items we needed from Wal-Mart. The grandchildren and my younger kids just went to each station and did the different activities.

4. Traditions – This is, by far, my favorite. I grew up watching Days of Our Lives, and yes…loved it. I especially loved the episodes were Mrs. Horton would make ornaments for every new family member in the family and at Christmas time they would put them on the tree. I am not as crafty as Mrs. Horton so I go to the store, Things Remembered, and get an ornament made for each new person in my immediate family. I started the tradition with my children and will continue it with each new member of our family, more grandkids, spouses, etc will soon follow. During the holidays, everyone that is with us will put their own ornament on the tree, if they are not in the area then we will still put their ornament on the tree for them. I am sure eventually I will need to get a bigger tree but hey that will just mean that our wonderful family is growing.

5. Help on childcare expenses – Date nights and break time. Why pay for all the daycare fees when your little one can hang out with the grandparents. My oldest daughter works at a retail store and sometimes she must work on the weekend. The boys, as we like to call them, come over and hang out with us while their mom is at work.

Bonus: Being a grandparent also means spoiling them rotten, giving them lots of sweets, and then sending them back home to their parents. I am kidding…just a little bit…wink wink ;-)!

National Grandparents Day is celebated annually on September 12th.

Photo Credit; Rita Portrait Photographer

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