Thirty two years ago today, I became a mother. The birthdays of all three of my children were special in so many ways and I don't have a favorite birth day. My son's birth was the first. Growing up, my favorite thing was to play was house, and I was always the Mommy. I loved baby dolls and as I grew up, I loved babies. When I was eleven and twelve, I REALLY wanted my parents to have another baby. Instead I learned to babysit and volunteered to hold and play with babies when we went to church. When I turned 26 and had my first baby -- it was a dream come true! Three years later, I was blessed with a daughter. The difference between having a boy and a girl was surprising to me. She was dainty, he a chunk, she was fussy and he was as mellow as he could be. Twelve years later my youngest came along, and it was a wonderful gift to be a new mommy again. The only training for being a Mom IS "on the job". I had read books and taken classes and babysat, but the first day of being a Mom is the first day on the job.
It is an ever changing job too, never the same day twice. Adaptability is REQUIRED, patience desired. You have to be a caretaker, a nurse, a cook, a teacher, a playmate, a coach, and an authority figure in a differing way every day, and every year. By the time you get the hang of it, and get good at it.......they are grown up and wanting you to stay out of their lives!!!
Just when you think you understand the job, the description changes! Often what happens next is your children become parents and you find yourself with a new position with only "on the job training"....a GRANDMA. Of course at that point, your kids are consumed with being parents, and know you only as Mom. I guess they kinda expect you to know how to magically be a grandma.
Being a Grandma is wonderful, and it is a slippery slope!! You're not the Mom, only sort of.......like a substitute teacher minding the class. The main difference is that the children have major strings attached to your heart. You delight in their firsts, marvel at their cuteness, worry over their problems and boo-boos like a Mom, yet you aren't! The hardest part is knowing when to STEP BACK! Sometimes your Mom instinct battles to take over, yet you have to put your "skill set" on the shelf and let the new CEO's take over -- and keep your mouth shut too -- even if you think they are making a mistake!
So just when you think you are at the time of your life where you have "worn all of the hats", along comes one of the biggest challenges of them all! It is a good thing that the pay off is in warm smiles, gleeful greetings, hugs, hand holding -- and if you're super lucky, a sleeping grandchild head on your shoulder, and a "Thanks Mom" from your grown kids. It is a gift worth waiting.
