Book Talk

We're visiting our grandkids for this Memorial Weekend. I brought books for the kids. I always bring books. Books for me to read, and books for gifts for them. Always books. I guess it's a grandma's job. The title of one book is "Grandma and Me". It's a lift-the-flap book. It begins by asking Who's at the door. You guessed it, it's grandma and she brought books. As we sat visiting, my granddaughter asked if she could have some Cheese-its we brought with us. I teased her that she could only have one. She said, "Only one, not too much." She kept jabbering something. My daughter explained it's a book they read. They held this whole book talk. She made a connection from one word in our conversation to a book she reads regularly with mom. Two and a half and she loves reading. She'll sit and read the new books over and over. Since I got here we've read the books twice. After each one she says, "What next?" That's the best thing about books, there is always another to read.

The Balancing Act

This coming weekend we will be on the road again. We'll be visiting our beautiful grandkids. My little granddaughter is two and a half and as cute as can be. She gets lots of attention. My grandson is eleven and can entertain himself. I always worry that I will lavish all my attention on my granddaughter and neglect my grandson. Babies naturally get all the attention. I am determined to balance my attention equally between the two of them this time. We'll be visiting them again in October, after the new baby arrives. Then there will be three grandkids to shower with attention. I hope I learn this balancing act by then.

Little Concerns

Yesterday I called my daughter and a little voice picked up. It was my little granddaughter, Makenzie. She jabbered something that my daughter translated a few minutes later as, "I got a Happy Meal. I didn't get a Shrek." How often in life do we anticipate one thing and get another. It won't be the first or only time for her. We spend so much time wanting, stressing, worrying over these little concerns. We miss the little surprises that pop in their place. LIke the Pinnochio toy she got instead of Shrek. An opportunity to fall in love with a different Disney character. He happens to be my favorite.

Sweet Sounds

My daughter and I stay in close contact. No more than 3 days go by, and one or the other of us is calling to see how things are going. I love the early morning calls on my way to work. Or the excited, spur of the moment calls heralding news of some great accomplishment of the kids. That was the type of call I received recently. Makenzie has been potty training. Carrie gives me updates on her progress. We've had a few congratulatory chats about wearing "big girl panties". This most recent call was of the 'other' kind of potty. Yay! That is really good news considering there is a new baby on the way. Each call is subject to Makenzie's mood as to whether she'll talk to me or not. Most times she whispers her answer to my questions, trying to draw out some conversation from her. Or she just nods her head in answer and I hear my daughter remind her, "Say yes, Gubba can't hear you shake your head." Most of the conversations are with my daughter keeping me abreast of their lives. I love to listen to the sweet sounds of the kids in the background. It's like those candid photos from unexpected moments of life.

Bullies

Someone once told me that when something happens to one child, everyone feels it. I know it to be true for me. I can't watch news of a tragedy involving a child without feeling as if it happened to one of my children. Bullying is a tragedy. Recently, my beloved grandson was the victim of bullying. Bullying of the racist kind. When the story was spilled, we realized it had been going on for a couple of months. With the move to a new school, he was just trying to fit in, find his place. There was no room in that for telling. When he did, he told his mom he felt like killing himself. Many would say, "That's just kids being kids. It'll make him tough." I say it's what caused Columbine, and the young girl from Ireland that killed herself. When I was young, kids made fun of me because I wore thick glasses. That was easily remedied later with contact lenses. How do you fix the wound in the soul that cuts into who you are? We're lucky. We have a talking family. We talk it out. And we love heartily. And my grandson WILL rise above this little bump in his path. He is going places. His Nana said so.

Connected

Makenzie talks to her baby brother through her mommy's belly button. She pokes her little finger in and talks to him. When her mommy asks her what she's doing, she says, "I wanna see my baby". It seems they already share a connection. Through the belly button. He is nourished by his mommy through that umbilical cord, and nourished by his sissy through the belly button. Nourished by words, and giggles, and pokes. He'll already know her when he arrives. I bet the first thing he does is poke her in the belly button!

Boy or Girl?

My daughter's ultrasound was scheduled for last Wednesday. Her husband took the day off, and they planned to take their son to school late so he could be there with them when they found out. It seems the new baby is quite shy, kept its face covered with both arms and its legs crossed. After some jostling, it finally uncrossed its legs for a split second, only to quickly cover itself with its hands. My daughter and the technician were the only ones who 'thought' they saw... Just remember dear daughter that I thought your son would be a daughter, right up until the moment he was born.

New Baby on the Way

A new baby will grace the ranks of our family come September. Tomorrow we will find out if it will be a girl or a boy. Doesn't matter-we'll love them both the same. There are nine years between the first two, and three between the last two. Perfect all around. They don't live across the country now. They are only 10 hours away. We manage to get in 2 - 3 visits a year. I'd love to take them for a weekend, or just for the evening so my daughter and her husband can have a 'date night'. When the second one came along, I worried that my grandson, who is quite a bit older and had all our attention for so long, would be jealous of the new baby. He adores his little sister. Now the little girl will move to the middle child position, and my worry is for her. She will be 3 shortly after the new baby arrives. She still needs her mommy quite a bit. She still wakes frequently at night, and only mommy will do. I also worry for my daughter who will need her sleep, and will be contending with two little ones at once. Life has a way of working out without my help. they are all in loving hands, my son-in-law.