Summer is hear!  Sleeping in.  Movie nights with Youngest.  Lots and lots of family time. I am looking forward to many hours looking into the sweetest eyes.  The eyes of grandchildren.

It’s Grandma!

My children tell my that I am their children’s favorite grandma.  This is music to my heart.

Whenever we see each other their little eyes light up.   There are voices calling “Grandma! Grandma!”  The sound of feet running towards me.  The hugs are long and tight.  There is jostling for room so that everyone can get hugs.

I look forward to these moments.

What Makes Me a Favorite?

This is a question I get a lot.   I don’t take them on trips.  I don’t buy them things.  I insist on polite behavior.  The are required to be respectful to everyone.  So, what do I do?

• We read stories.
• We play games.
• We snuggle while watching their favorite TV shows and movies.
• I look at them as I listen intently to what they have to tell me.
• I crochet blankets and toys for them.
• I have room on my lap for as many as four children at a time.
• We go to the park.
• We go camping.

Children remember the time we spend with them more than the remember what we bought them.

Boundless Joy

Through the eyes of my grandchildren I am able to rediscover the wonder of the world around me.

• The excitement of a tent in the living room.
• The breathless anticipation of waiting for something exciting.
• The joy of homemade cookies.
• The wonder of the outdoors.

I am truly grateful for these beautiful children.  They are:

• my beacons when the darkness of Bip begins to creep in.
• the joy in my world when Pots starts to grumble.
• peace when the twins start to trouble me.
• the best reward for not eating my children when they were teenagers.

Definitely NOT Perfection

Does this mean that we never have bad days?  Of course not.  They are, after all, children.  They get:

• tired and cranky.
• overly rambunctious.
• disobedient.

That is just life with children.  The difference is that my name is not “Mom.”  I don’t have to be the meanie all the time.  Just sometimes when I’m babysitting.

I get tired and frustrated.  But then I can send them home with their parents and take a nap.

I wouldn’t trade the name “Grandma” for anything.