I am Grammy
After many years of life, love, struggle, faith, experiences and learning, I have solidified a few things. Perhaps I’ve finally found what I was searching for when I was 20 – meaning and purpose. In this space I hope to articulate thoughts and conclusions that have made the world make sense. As an introvert, I’ve been reticent about speaking up, but now, Grammy takes a stand.
grandmother
Nana
grandma
Mimi
These women showed me how to be grandparent, and here’s that story:
I was blessed indeed to have perhaps the best grandmother in the world. She was my only one, but I needed no other. I never had any question about her love for me and my family. Simply by talking about her life, by showing me how (and why) to do things, and watching her example, I learned lessons not in textbooks. She had integrity, purpose, faith, and common sense. I could tell she struggled when I became a teenager and had ideas and preferences that she did not share, but our relationship was always strong. When she came to visit me in college, staying in my apartment with my other roommates, she was up to the challenge. We came home from classes to find a hot meal and all our laundry done. Love in action.
I have been a grandmother for nine years now, and I want my grandkids to feel the same way about me. Unconditional love and acceptance, and to value time together as most precious. The benefit of hindsight has shown me what marvelous opportunities grandmothers have to influence and enrich those dear humans our kids have borne.
As a busy mom of 4, I remember the delight of seeing my kids entranced by their grandmas, these wise ladies who had the time and energy to lavish on each one. As parent, I had responsibilities they didn’t – I was concerned over their education, nutrition, social skills, health, spiritual well-being, and basic survival. All my mother-in-law focused on was sitting on the floor playing barbies or congratulating the gamer who had just saved the Princess. She shared with them fascinating things in nature that I hadn’t noticed: interesting designs in rocks, how squishy the sand felt between your toes, and to be silent and listen to the hummingbird’s wings. She and the other grandmothers impacted my kids, celebrated their uniqueness, showed them they had value, and shared wisdom they will always remember.
These examples, my own grandmother, and my children’s, have instilled in me the desire for greatness – to be a great Grammy. I am committed to each of them, to love them unconditionally, to talk to them about bearing the image of God, to show them how to be a good person, to enjoy them and laugh together, and to build mutual trust and respect.
And like Marvel’s Groot, I know who I am. I am Grammy.