She's Having a Baby!!

Wow!! To say that I am excited would be the understatement of the year! My daughter is having a baby! When the time came that I would no longer be the one to be having babies, I began to look forward to the day when my children would make me a grandmother. That name, "grandmother," sounds so old, though. So, we are going to have to come up with a not-so-old sounding name!

Grandmother. I remember my grandmothers well. I remember spending a lot of time with them, even though they did not live in the same town we did. My parents would take us to them to spend the summer vacation. We would go to them at Christmas. I even remember an Easter in Moultrie, where Granny and Daddy Bo lived. I remember riding in Granny's car; she was rather short and could barely see over the steering wheel! They lived on a farm and I loved to go out to see the cows and any other animals that would be in the barn. I used to love meals in Granny's small kitchen. We would cram all 6 of us, my aunt and uncle along with their 2 boys, and Granny and Daddy Bo in a kitchen the size of some closets. But the meal and the fellowship with family was priceless! I remember when Granny and Daddy Bo had to go live in a retirement home because they needed some assistance. That was a sad time. That meant they were getting old. I didn't want them to get old. Now they are gone and I miss them very much.

Mama and Papa, my mother's parents, also lived on a farm. It was in Norman Park. I remember spending summers with them as well. We would divide our time between the two sets of grandparents when we were there for the summer. I remember walking to the gas station up the road for a Yahoo and candy bar with Papa. We would sit on the porch and eat watermelon until we would explode. The smell of boiled peanuts always takes me back to that kitchen where a huge pot of peanuts would be waiting for us to dive into. I remember the summer Mom told Mama to get me to eat tomatoes. I really did not want to eat tomatoes then. I remember sitting around on hot summer days reading every Nancy Drew book we could get our hands on. We couldn't all stay in one grandparents' house at a time, so it was always a toss up to see who would stay with whom. I remember when Papa had to go to the nursing home and Mama came to live with us. The day my Papa died I thought my heart would break. I loved him so much. Mama lived with us for years after that and I never could get used to it. To be honest, I really didn't want her to live with us. I felt like she was trying to be my mother and I had one of those. After a few years she went to live in an assisted living apartment building. Mom would go to see her every day. She is gone now, too. But she lived to see 3 of her great-grandchildren.

As I prepare for this new stage of my life there is a lot to think about. What kind of grandmother do I want to be? Am I ready to pass on what I've learned? How often should I visit and not be a pest? Can I buy every cute outfit I see knowing they will outgrow it in 3 months? Just how much can I spoil them and not ruin them? Will I be strong enough to uphold their parents rules of discipline or cave because they are so cute? Questions, questions, questions. How do I want my grandchildren to remember me?!

Well, I guess we will have to wait to get the answer to all these, and more. For now, I am going to enjoy all the preparations and do what I can to help. I want to shout every time I think about it!! November never seemed so far away!