The Perfect Grandma
The Perfect Grandma—That’s Me!
My daughter appreciates it when I help translate what her daughter wants. “She’s crying because she needs a nap. Why don’t you put her down?” Or, “That’s what she says when she wants a cookie.” As a working mom, it’s nice for her to have someone be helpful like that. When I was a mom, I didn’t “work outside the home” and since she isn’t spending all day with the kids, like I did, it’s probably a big help to her.
And I think she and my daughter-in-law really appreciate my clever household tips. For example, I was just looking for a sippy cup at my son’s last week and as I was going through the cabinets, I had a few thoughts. Why doesn’t my daughter-in-law keep her pots and pans in the cabinet right across from the stove instead of in the corner cabinet? Really, it would be so much easier for her if she’d move them.
It turns out there are many, many strings attached to having a grandma who cares too much. A grandma like me.
I try to be the best grandma I can. No one listens with the heart like grandma. No one really knows the grandkids like I do. Sure, mom and dad are there when I’m not, but when they really want something, and mom and dad say no, who’s there with open arms and heart. Who never says, “No, that costs too much?” Nothing costs too much for a grandma’s love. Especially if the parents don’t care enough to let them have it.
We didn’t have cold cereal for breakfast every morning when my kids were little—it was always pancakes and oatmeal, hot chocolate and homemade bread. Good solid plain ordinary good-for-you stuff. When I was their age, people just ate real food. Organic, schmanic. Why, I used to stick what we were having for dinner into the blender and that’s what I fed the baby. Of course, I cooked every night, we didn’t go out for pizza unless it was a special occasion. I didn’t like to waste my money.
Okay, so we ate at McDonald’s from the minute it opened, and you couldn’t find a can opener in my kitchen drawer with a high-powered magnet. .
But I know the kids really appreciate the tips I give them on parenting. Especially now that they’re not teenagers, they seem to value my perspective a lot more, my experience. After all, I raised them didn’t I? I’ve got the Valentine’s cards in my bedroom drawer to prove it. And the little ceramic bowls. And the homemade earrings and pins and Santas. I have it all.
My daughter reminded me of my reality yesterday as she fought her way past the giant-sized barrel of Kentucky Fried Chicken in my fridge while trying to find an apple for the baby. “She lives with me, mom. I KNOW how she says ‘cookie’ and when she needs to go to bed.”
There just has to be a good reason I know everything now that I’m older. They should be dying to hear from me, dying to have me explain how to raise and feed the kids! If it’s not my beeswax, just whose beeswax is it?
My daughter appreciates it when I help translate what her daughter wants. “She’s crying because she needs a nap. Why don’t you put her down?” Or, “That’s what she says when she wants a cookie.” As a working mom, it’s nice for her to have someone be helpful like that. When I was a mom, I didn’t “work outside the home” and since she isn’t spending all day with the kids, like I did, it’s probably a big help to her.
And I think she and my daughter-in-law really appreciate my clever household tips. For example, I was just looking for a sippy cup at my son’s last week and as I was going through the cabinets, I had a few thoughts. Why doesn’t my daughter-in-law keep her pots and pans in the cabinet right across from the stove instead of in the corner cabinet? Really, it would be so much easier for her if she’d move them.
It turns out there are many, many strings attached to having a grandma who cares too much. A grandma like me.
I try to be the best grandma I can. No one listens with the heart like grandma. No one really knows the grandkids like I do. Sure, mom and dad are there when I’m not, but when they really want something, and mom and dad say no, who’s there with open arms and heart. Who never says, “No, that costs too much?” Nothing costs too much for a grandma’s love. Especially if the parents don’t care enough to let them have it.
We didn’t have cold cereal for breakfast every morning when my kids were little—it was always pancakes and oatmeal, hot chocolate and homemade bread. Good solid plain ordinary good-for-you stuff. When I was their age, people just ate real food. Organic, schmanic. Why, I used to stick what we were having for dinner into the blender and that’s what I fed the baby. Of course, I cooked every night, we didn’t go out for pizza unless it was a special occasion. I didn’t like to waste my money.
Okay, so we ate at McDonald’s from the minute it opened, and you couldn’t find a can opener in my kitchen drawer with a high-powered magnet. .
But I know the kids really appreciate the tips I give them on parenting. Especially now that they’re not teenagers, they seem to value my perspective a lot more, my experience. After all, I raised them didn’t I? I’ve got the Valentine’s cards in my bedroom drawer to prove it. And the little ceramic bowls. And the homemade earrings and pins and Santas. I have it all.
My daughter reminded me of my reality yesterday as she fought her way past the giant-sized barrel of Kentucky Fried Chicken in my fridge while trying to find an apple for the baby. “She lives with me, mom. I KNOW how she says ‘cookie’ and when she needs to go to bed.”
There just has to be a good reason I know everything now that I’m older. They should be dying to hear from me, dying to have me explain how to raise and feed the kids! If it’s not my beeswax, just whose beeswax is it?
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