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I never got to know my grandparents as one set died before I was born and the other set travel so much that a relationship never had time to be fostered.  As I look around at grandparents and their grandchildren I realized how much  I missed!

I saw how special a relationship can be when I watched my daughter and my mother interreact.   They played, laughed, talked and shared all sorts of things.  And yes, sometimes my mother spoiled Francesca a bit.  But isn’t that the role of a grandparent?  They are a place of unconditional love and support and teach our children life lessons that often fall on deaf ears when given by their parents.  While my daughter never had any grandfathers she was blessed with two wonderful and interactive grandmothers.

I remember one evening after dinner, my mom offered to give Francesca a bath while I cleaned up the dishes and put away the leftovers.  I could hear the splashing, laughing, and undiscernible quiet conversation spilling from the bathroom.  Once the task was completed my mother joined me in the kitchen and said the words that can put fear into a mom’s hearts.

“Francesca had an issue today but we had a nice discussion and she understands.”

“What?  What issue? And why didn’t she come to me?”

“Oh, I cannot tell you because I promised I wouldn’t; but safe to say its all good now.”

No amount of pressing would loosen my mother’s lips.

I was heartbroken and felt like a terrible mother.  One in which my daughter couldn’t share something that worried her.

A few days later when Francesca and I were enjoying an afterschool snack I asked her what had happen that upset her and why she shared it with “Nana” but felt she couldn’t share it with me.  Her answer was simple.

“Mom, you and daddy have to decide whether I am doing right or wrong.  That’s your job.  But Nana, well she just has to love me.

It was in that moment I realized just how blessed we were to have grandmothers in my daughter’s life. “A Grandparents job is to spoil and snuggle, hug and hope, pray and pamper”.  And like magicians, they create wonderful memories to last a lifetime.

Fred Rogers has a great definition of Grandparents “Grandparents can be very special resources. Just being close to them reassures a child, without words, about change and continuity, about what went before and what will come after.”

Here are some more great quotes on Grandparents:

• “Some of our greatest blessings call us grandma and grandpa.” — Unknown
• “A child needs a grandparent, anybody’s grandparent, to grow a little more securely into an unfamiliar world.” — Charles and Ann Morse
• “Becoming a grandmother is wonderful. One moment you’re just a mother. The next you are all-wise and prehistoric.” — Pam Brown
• “If nothing is going well, call you grandmother.” — Italian Proverb
• “It’s funny what happens when you become a grandparent. You start to act all goofy and do things you never thought you’d do. It’s terrific.” — Mike Krzyzewski
• “Grandchildren are God’s way of compensating us for growing old.” — Mary H. Waldrip

Having two grandsons of my own has given me the opportunity to create a relationship that I never had with my own grandparents.

Having, and being a grandparent has so many benefits for everyone. For me, it’s the ability to see the world through my grandson’s eyes as well as an opportunity to make memories.  My role also keeps me moving which is so important as I age.  Being “Nana” to my two grandsons holds me accountable to my exercise and eating programs, incentive to keep up with my medical wellness checks and provides me lot and lots of smiles and laughter. And we need to take care of ourselves if we are going to keep up with the grandkids!

For our daughter and son-in-love, I hope it helps them with juggling their work, school, sport programs by lending them a hand or doing a pick up and drop off. Not to mention that sometimes, parents need a “time-out” themselves and we get some extra time with the kiddos.

And for the grandkids, I hope that Nana and Opa are a safe place to land, to be loved, without judgement but with love.  It’s a win/win for all of the family!

 

Thank you God for gifting me with my daughter, Francesca because as my mother told me the first time she held Francesca “I had to have you so that I could have her!”  I was kind of hurt when she first said but once I became a grandparent, I totally got it.  Being a grandparent makes all the craziness of raising our own children worth it.

Thank you for reading my post.  If you have found it encouraging please consider liking, commenting or sharing it.  Feel free to even re-blog – may these words take flight!

I have additional insights I’d love to share with you found in the pages of my debut book: Surviving Medical Mayhem – Laughing When It Hurts.  To order a copy or learn more go to my website at www.lorettaschoen.com

Blessings for Health & Wellness.