I’m not sure where I’d stand as a mother without my kids’ grandparents. Of course, I’d survive as mothers do, but life would certainly be a hell of a lot harder. Sometimes, yes, grandparents get a bad rep. They give our kids too much sugar, spoil them with unnecessary gifts, and keep them up way too late. But let’s not ever forget about all of the joy they bring to our lives, too. Grandparent’s Day should be a day where grandparents are acknowledged for the magic that they bring their grandchildren and the reprieve they gift to parents…because not everyone is blessed with them.
Growing up, my grandfather passed away when I was only five years old. I have little memories of him. And my grandmother, God bless her feisty heart, but she was an immigrant from Greece. Oftentimes I could barely understand her, and unfortunately, she died when I was just fourteen years old. But what my children are experiencing from their grandparents is from a completely different world compared to what I did. They get to see all four of their grandparents on a weekly basis. How lucky are they?
My mom {or Yia-Yia as the kids call her}, she saved me, quite literally, when my first was born. She’d show up every single day for the first month of my son’s life. I didn’t take to motherhood easily, so she stepped up by driving an hour to help me get the hang of it. My mom also helped raise my son during the first two years of his life by taking care of him three days a week while I worked. Today, her and my father serve as the typical grandparents by spoiling their grandchildren with their weekly doses of love, and yes, sugar.
My in-laws, they’re pretty stellar, too. My mother-in-law watches the kids one day each week so that I can work and finish up my grad degree. My children never get sad to see me walk out that door, either. Quite the opposite actually. They look forward to their weekly “Gigi Day,” as they call it. She picks them up from school, takes them to their practices, and of course, usually spoils them with a little dollar store toy, too. The memories there are creating will something my children will always remember.
And let’s not forget about the sanity that the grandparents grace me with. They gladly take the kids for a “sleepover,” as they call it so that Mom and Dad can scooch out of the house for some adult time. The time that the grandparents give my husband and me to remind us that we are an actual couple, not just parents, is vital in a marriage. And I’ll gladly accept the help if the grandparents are willing to give it.
Yes, my children and I, we are blessed to have a Yia-Yia, Papou, Gigi, and Papa. Unlike me, my kids will be surrounded by even more people who love them and help them grow into independent little people. By helping us raise our children, the grandparents are intertwined in our lives even deeper. And that fact couldn’t make me happier. So, they can keep on giving my children the sugar and the occasional toy, because the joy that they bring our family will last a lifetime.
What do you cherish about the grandparents in your life?
Grandparents are everything!