Sandwiched
Grandmothers are so special. As a child, I adored my maternal grandmother and couldn’t wait for Tuesdays – Grandma’s Day. In fact, I was annoyed during the school year that Grandma’s Day had to be shortened. Grandma was awesome and always served me my favorite meals for dinner, which at the time included macaroni and cheese, baked ham and McDonald’s. She played an assortment of games with me and loved all the drawings I made for her.
“Grandma Grew,” as I called her, never wore anything but dresses and had lovely wigs that I enjoyed trying on. She sang and said prayers with me at bedtime and always arranged my stuffed animals just the way I liked them. If I close my eyes I can still see her hands, which were soft with thin skin and blue veins that were easy to see. I thought they were beautiful and still do.
I was devastated when she died from colon cancer when I was only nine. Even though that was almost 40 years ago, I remember the viewing and funeral. I still have a note that she wrote to me from the hospital.
I never really thought about my own mom becoming a grandmother but she received that honor when I was six years old after my sister gave birth to my nephew Brian. And over the next five years, she became a grandmother to four other kiddos. As you’ve guessed, there’s a fairly big age difference between my siblings and me.
Mom continued the awesome grandmother tradition. I remember her making chocolate sodas and root beer floats for Brian and his sister Melissa. And of course, since I was still at home and close to their age, I got to share in the treats.
She loved to babysit her grandkids and played various board games with them. We went on adventures and saw movies, visited the Potawatomi Zoo in South Bend, and other fun places. Mom was also a lifesaver when I finally had my first child more than 18 years ago. My husband John worked a lot at the time and couldn’t help me as much as he would have liked, so she stayed and assisted me for a week.
Even though she doesn’t have the energy like she used to nowadays, Mom’s still there for my kiddos today and loves to see their music performances and other events.
I thought about all of this recently on one of my training walks for the Geist half-marathon. My typical route winds through Forest Park. With the beautiful spring weather, I’ve seen lots of families enjoying the playground and trails, including grandparents and their grandchildren.
It makes me think about my future family members – grandkids – and I’m looking forward to meeting them. I’m in no rush, mind you – Jonathon and Jacob are only 18 and 17. But I hope to be a loving, fun grandmother who gives my grandchildren wonderful memories.
I’m confident I’ll accomplish that goal. After all, I had two of the best examples on earth to follow.