Seems it's Grandparents' Day. Honestly I had no idea, so it's a little funny-weird that this morning I woke up thinking about grandparents.
Specifically, I woke thinking about my daughter and how she doesn't really know what a grandfather is. My father and stepmother came to visit when Sprout was a newborn, but otherwise have never been in the same room with her. Aside from the photos I send every Christmas, and the occasional Facebook post (if they even read my Facebook posts), they don't know her at all. Her other grandfather, Someone's dad, has seen her once, when she was just learning to toddle about and we drove to Texas to visit his family.
Oddly, for a child who hasn't any real idea what a grandfather is, she talks about "my grandpa" a lot lately.
"My grandpa has a flute at his house and he plays it all the time."
"My grandpa drives a car and he takes me in it and we go to all kinds of places."
"My grandpa has ice cream at his house."
And so on.
The only grandparent she knows, really, is my mother. Now, my mother is a fantastic grandma and if my kids only interact with ONE of their grandparents, my mother's the one to have...but...I can't help feeling a little wistful, a little melancholy, because the whole burden of grandparenting falls on her shoulders and my kids are missing something that I had in spades as a child.
I had an excess of grandparents growing up, what with divorces, remarryings, and all that. I think I had eight at the height of grandparentage. I loved them all, although my mother's father was probably my favorite. Probably? No...definitely. We were kindred souls in some small ways. I miss him every day.
My kids, though - they have my magnificent mother and once in a while Someone's mother, and that's kinda it.
I would have liked there to be fond memories for them - fishing, swimming, rambling in the woods, playing cards, sitting on a porch somewhere, chasing fireflies, indulgent laughter, cookies, all the things that I'm told are part of the grandparent package.
The Evil Genius barely knows his paternal grandfather. Goddess knows I've tried, but I had to stop.
I'm sure if I worked harder, chased more, made even greater effort, the other grands would take a tiny bit more interest in my kids, but I don't have it in me to chase people down and beg them for love. Not for me, not for my kids, not for anyone. I can't help thinking that it'd be nice if THEY cared enough to make an effort. Their actions have shown me that my kids (and I) do not matter enough, and I am not throwing good love down a hole and hoping for a return.
So my kids have one Gramlin, mostly, and one Gammy Beff sometimes, and that's a lot, and it's enough, and with our extended family of aunties and uncles and misses and misters and nana's, we fill in the gaps quite nicely.
Happy Grandparents' Day to them what celebrates it!
The only grandparent she knows, really, is my mother. Now, my mother is a fantastic grandma and if my kids only interact with ONE of their grandparents, my mother's the one to have...but...I can't help feeling a little wistful, a little melancholy, because the whole burden of grandparenting falls on her shoulders and my kids are missing something that I had in spades as a child.
I had an excess of grandparents growing up, what with divorces, remarryings, and all that. I think I had eight at the height of grandparentage. I loved them all, although my mother's father was probably my favorite. Probably? No...definitely. We were kindred souls in some small ways. I miss him every day.
My kids, though - they have my magnificent mother and once in a while Someone's mother, and that's kinda it.
I would have liked there to be fond memories for them - fishing, swimming, rambling in the woods, playing cards, sitting on a porch somewhere, chasing fireflies, indulgent laughter, cookies, all the things that I'm told are part of the grandparent package.
The Evil Genius barely knows his paternal grandfather. Goddess knows I've tried, but I had to stop.
I'm sure if I worked harder, chased more, made even greater effort, the other grands would take a tiny bit more interest in my kids, but I don't have it in me to chase people down and beg them for love. Not for me, not for my kids, not for anyone. I can't help thinking that it'd be nice if THEY cared enough to make an effort. Their actions have shown me that my kids (and I) do not matter enough, and I am not throwing good love down a hole and hoping for a return.
So my kids have one Gramlin, mostly, and one Gammy Beff sometimes, and that's a lot, and it's enough, and with our extended family of aunties and uncles and misses and misters and nana's, we fill in the gaps quite nicely.
Happy Grandparents' Day to them what celebrates it!
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