Being a Grandparent is the Best, Because I Learned from the Best

My husband is out of town for work this weekend so the pugs and I will oversee the house and take care of my grandson.  I spent my lunch hour at the local Wal-Mart buying toddler preferred food and a big sprinkler pad that has inflatable palm trees and a slide.  The weather is supposed to be nice this weekend, so my game plan is to let him enjoy the sun and water as much as possible.  I even have a box of Otter Pops in the freezer for him to gnaw on.  Even though herding a toddler around can be exhausting, I consider myself fortunate to have the opportunity to spend time with my grandson because I know first-hand how important a grandparent can be in the life of a child. 

Growing up, I spent a lot of time with my Grandma Betty. Grandma Betty was widowed in her 40’s and lost her mother within a week or two of my grandpa dying.  My dad was in college at the time, but my Aunt Linda recalled being sixteen years old and Grandma Betty looking at her and saying, “Well, it is just you and me now. What do we do?”  What she did was carry on and love and support both her children and their families for the next 40 plus years. She created memories for us and made sure we all knew how much we were loved. 

Grandma Betty’s house was a short walk from our home in Stevensville and it was a place that I always felt safe, loved, and doted upon. My parents both worked and had commuted to and from work so Grandma Betty was often in charge of my little brother and me, often before and after school. Grandma would always be happy to see us and often give us some quarters so we could run to the arcade where I would play Ms. Pacman and my little brother would conquer the levels of Donkey Kong or Frogger. After we played our games, it was back to Grandma’s house to watch The Andy Griffith Show until my dad got off work and came by to retrieve us. Grandma would often have dinner ready when my dad arrived and nine days out ten, the dinner was a fried hamburger patty, green beans, a mashed potato patty (which she fried) and butterscotch pudding for dessert. We would always gobble up the food she cooked for us and look forward to seeing her the next day.  

I remember many Christmas mornings that included my brother and I being instructed to wait until at least 6:30 a.m. to call Grandma Betty to have her come over. We would run to her house and walk back with her as quickly as we could, and when we were able to drive, the trip to retrieve her was even quicker. The only vice I know she had was her love of soap operas and her subscriptions to the National Enquirer and Star magazines. Grandma Betty was a constant in our lives, and I have so many good memories of her. I loved her with my whole heart and still think about her often, especially when I am watering my pansies, drinking a Tab soda, or celebrating a Christmas morning. 

Fast forward to 2024 and now I am grandma. I love my grandson with my entire being and I hope that he can remember me as someone who loved him unconditionally and was his biggest champion. I want him to feel safe, loved and doted on, just like I did from my grandma. I want to see him go to school on his first day, run his first race and every other milestone in his little life. I consider it a true blessing to be in his life and that I had such great grandmothers in my own life to learn from. I plan to enjoy every minute because one day, he is going to have to carry on without me and I want him to remember me as the type of grandparent he wants to be one day.