The Magic of Grandchildren
All my friends were right: nothing is as magical as holding your grandchild.
Perfect love sometimes does not come until the first grandchild. ~Welsh Proverb
If I had known how wonderful it would be to have grandchildren, I’d have had them first. ~Lois Wyse
Grandchildren are God’s way of compensating us for growing old. ~Mary H. Waldrip
Never have children, only grandchildren. ~Gore Vidal
Becoming a grandmother is wonderful. One moment you’re just a mother. The next you are all-wise and prehistoric. ~Pam Brown
For years I’ve read the corny, sugary-sweet quotes about grandparenting and doubted the enthusiasm. I’ve patiently listened to my friends rhapsodizing on the wonders of being a grandmother and looked at hundreds of pictures of adorable grandbabies on Facebook. When friends pull out their phones to show me pictures I pretended to understand, but secretly, I thought they were exaggerating wildly. When my daughter announced her pregnancy, I was over the moon excited, but I still held out the thought that it would be wonderful but not the euphoric experience I heard people talk about.
My grandson, Callister, is now 6 weeks old, and I’m publicly retracting all my doubts and disbelief. Being a grandparent is truly as great as portrayed, a magical experience! I expected to love him, but I didn’t count on becoming totally and irrevocably addicted to his sweet babyness (yes, I know that’s not a real word but it should be). There is nothing quite like being able to cuddle, play and love your grandbaby and then leave all the hard stuff to the parents. I get to go over every day and enjoy him for a short time and even if he’s having a fussy, difficult day (which is thankfully rare for him), I know I get to go home and sleep undisturbed. Because I’ve seen him every day, he seems to recognize me and gets wide eyed and stares into my eyes when I first arrive. I’m even beginning to get the rewards of some sweet smiles and coos when I hold him.
One of the other great pleasures is seeing my baby in the role of loving, new mother. I witness the growing bond between my daughter and her son, and I can’t help but be transported thirty years back into time when I was a young mother. The indescribable feelings of love and joy, worry and wonder wash over me as I vicariously relive those early days through my daughter and grandson. Intense nostalgia pulls me like a magnet to longingly look through old, dusty baby books and sends me digging into the recesses of the attic to pull forth the toys and books my daughter loved as a baby. He’ll mostly have new toys and clothes, but a few items from his parent’s childhood are sprinkled in.
Yes, all my friends were right, there is nothing quite as magical as holding your grandchild in your arms. As I hold him in my arms and look into his eyes, I see fragments of the past generations, loved ones long gone but carried on in Callister. I also imagine the future, who he will become and how our relationship will develop. The present asserts itself in the form of a cry for attention, a hungry baby won’t allow you to wallow in thought for too long. Now that I’m a member of the grandparent club I can vouch for the veracity of the priceless quotes about grandparenting. I’ve got the grandparent goggles on, and I don’t think I’ll be taking them off anytime soon.
