A Slice of Life: Grandchildren

A Slice of Life
Sometimes when I am playing with Little T, my heart swells with such love and I wonder if this is how my grandmother felt when she was with me. I'm sure it is.

Grandchildren are a true blessing and there is such a special bond between grandparent and child that it's a shame if any long distance has to separate them--as has happened with four of our grandchildren. They live in Tennessee and TB and I miss them so much.

I am not their biological grandparent, but I am their nana of the heart. I love them all for the individuals they are but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't closer to some than others.

The older boys remember their biological "Mom-Mom" and that is a wonderful thing. We can build on our relationship but the fact is that they are older and have already developed interests in other directions. Still I enjoy being with them and doing things with them. My youngest grandson doesn't know me at all and is very shy around me. That hurts a little but the most I can do is just give him some space and let him know I love him without forcing myself on him.

I miss Taylor, my only granddaughter, terribly. She was about 18 months old when TB and I got married and so we grew close to each other--sort of like my grandmother and me. We could enjoy girly things together, dolls and coloring and tea parties.

My closest bond is with my Little T. I held him just hours after he was born and absolutely fell in love with him. Because he has PDD-NOS, I've had to learn the best way to communicate with him. A lot of our play involves giving him lots of language in the hope that he'll process it and give it back eventually. He's come such a long way with all the intervention he's received and he is a joy and a blessing in my life.

Someday I hope to have more grandchildren as my kids grow up and marry.

I've always felt that grandparents are a "soft place to fall" for children; we are non-judgemental and everything they do is wonderful in our eyes. I'm not talking about bad behavior. I'm talking about art and music and playing games. It doesn't matter if the tune is off key or if the colors go out of the lines or if the color choice is unusual.

I love to sing and play pretend games with the kids. Board games are always fun, too, as are card games. There are things we can teach our grandchildren--in a fun way--about life, things that they wouldn't so readily accept from their own parents. I learned most of my manners from my grandmother, helping her set the table and watching her interact with other guests.

One thing my grandmother gave me was a feeling of worth. When I would visit, she'd set out a formal table setting--just like I was the pastor or someone important coming to visit. We would have a simple lunch on her good plates and I'd carefully help her wash and dry them when we were finished. She had me choose books to buy for her little library for us grandkids. I want to do these things for my grandchildren.

And I really think my grandmother loved being a grandma....that was why she was so good at it. I want to be good at it too.