Me, A Grandma?

"A grandchild fills a space in your heart that you never knew

was empty." – Unknown

My last child left the nest about 4 years ago.  What ensued was a grief I never expected, it is called Empty Nest Syndrome.  Empty Nest Syndrome is not a term you'll find in many medical text books, but Webster’s defines it as, “The emotional letdown often experienced by a parent whose children have grown up and moved away from home”.  So, I cried until my cryer hurt, prayed, went to counseling, put on my granny panties and decided to redefine what my purpose would be for the next quarter century of my life (God willing!).  In this area of my life, I came to the conclusion that my grandchildren are the next best thing to kids!   Maybe even better!  I don’t have the parental responsibilities of discipline, structure, etc., etc., so I am free to be me and build lasting memories with these little people who call me “Grandma”.

My grandkids line up as follows:  Katelyn (21), Elizabeth (8), August (6), and Kaylee (7 months).  OK, so I was not the Grandma who rushed in at birth and spent every free moment after that trying to steal the g’kids away from Mom and Dad.  I was there at birth mind you, but I had some adjusting to do! (expressed with my best Ricky Ricardo accent)  I was in the midst of the grief of losing my own children, trying to deal with my own identity crisis, and just plain exhausted!  However, during this long, grueling process of trying to “redefine” my role in life, God blessed me with a new, fresh perspective; I now realize that I have missed out on a lot of precious time already and have some catching up to do.  I have a lot to offer those special little creatures and they have a whole world of fulfillment and fun to offer me, so off on this journey I go.

I have researched some ways to spend fun, quality time with the grandkids.  Here are some fall/winter projects that sparked my interest:

·         Let them decorate old pillowcases with fabric markers. This will be a nice memento whenever they sleep over at my house.

·         Snap photos with a digital camera all evening long. Print pictures out while they sleep, then have them assemble sleepover scrapbooks to take home in the morning.

·         Take drawings they give me, or special cards they make, frame them and hang in a special place at eye level for them.

·         Host a cooking show with them as the star.

·         Start a collection with them and talk about it.

·         Start a journal and when they sleep over, ask them what they would like to remember about their day, what they want to do when they grow up, stuff that happens at school, etc and write down the answers and have them draw a picture on the following page.

Of course for the oldest and youngest, these activities are not viable.  The oldest is out and about in the world and finding a life for her.  The little one, well, she dictates my activities!

“Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of children is their fathers.” – Proverbs 17:6