Why Being a Grandma Is So Much Better Than Being a Mom

Being a Grandma is my favorite thing, and I have to admit that I like it even better than being a Mom. But that is only true because there are no rules for grand-parenting. No one in their right mind would blame me if one of them robbed a bank...which of course they wouldn't do because my grandchildren are perfect.

My grandkids love to come to Grandpa and Grandma's house for sleepovers. Bedtime happens only after the movie and caramel popcorn are done. And to put our grandkids to bed we have to read books and snuggle and sing our favorite songs together first. My kids were lucky to get teeth brushed and prayers said.

My grandkids love to jump on us early in the morning to wake us up. It never fails that it turns into a tickle torture with everyone laughing. My kids knew that jumping on me early in the morning would be a very dangerous move to make, nigh unto taking their life in their hands.

                         

My grandkids love the "secret" tradition we have of having Mickey Mouse pancakes for breakfast. Who knew that three little circles connected together taste so much better than just one? My kids had to get their own bowl of cold cereal for breakfast.

I was on survival mode for heaven's sake!

That is one of the best parts of being Grandma. I just get to love them and relax. I don't have to worry about what they eat when they are at our house, or what they do here for the most part, or even how they will turn out. They can eat healthy when they get back to their "REAL" parents. And Mommy and Daddy can tell them to mind their manners and not jump on the couches. Here, none of that really matters.

I don't care about the dishes in the sink, or the messes on the table when the grandkids are here. I know that all of that can be taken care of after they go home. I have that luxury. Moms and Dads don't. By the time dinner is on the table and kids are in bed, parents are just grateful the kids are alive and no one is bleeding.

That is why God made Grandparents.  

Doctor Phil says that grandparents should be a safe place to land for children. Maybe that is because we have a clearer perspective of how fast childhood passes. And we know that most children grow up to be good people with only one thing - awesome grandparents!

Shocked by my Grandson's Language

I'm glad that my son and his wife are pretty strict with their kids. They don't have TV and can only watch G and PG rated movies. They have family devotional every morning before Daddy goes to work. And they definitely cannot say any bad words. Even "shut-up" and "dang" are on the list of naughty words.

So when they are at my house I have to be a little careful what I say.

I am not a swearer and do not ever take the Lord's name in vain, but I have been known to let out a "Oh my gosh!" here and there. But not at their house. No "chicken swearing" allowed. Chicken swearing is where you substitute a similar sounding word for the swear word that you are too chicken to say, as in "what the heck". Yup...guilty.
 What the heck is Swearing???

Instead my daughter-in-law and her family say, "What the corn?". Well, what the heck does that mean? See, I told you I was guilty. If you ask me, corn is a substitute for the swear word too. It just doesn't sound anything like it.

Because of the rules about what can and can't be said by my grandson, I was completely shocked when he let out a "holy crap!"  at my house one day. Hmmm.....apparently Mommy can say that when she is driving and the other drivers are being idiots. More recently I told him something was COOL and he informed me that cool really stands for Constipated Overrated Out of style Loser. He told me he learned that from his "What the corn!" cousins. Gonna have to have a talk with their "What the corn!" Mommies about that.

They say that language is a sign of our intelligence or lack thereof.

So "fudge"...we're all just doing the best we can...gosh darn it! Now "Shut the front door" and don't listen to what Grandma says when she drops a stool on her big toe! Oh my corn....
                             
                                     

I'm Kind of a Valentines Day Snob

I am kind of a Valentines Day Snob. There, I said it. I think Valentines Day has become about high priced flowers and seeing who can spend the most money on their sweetheart.

Now I know that it is about a lot more than that. 

The first few years I was married, I felt bad when my husband didn't buy me flowers on Valentines. I would do cute little things for him and if I was lucky he would buy me a card. Then I read a newspaper article that changed my life. It was just a short article written by a woman just like me. She longed for flowers on that special day, but never got them. Then one day she realized that her husband gave her so much more, and not just on Valentines Day. His way of showing love was just different than others, and it came from his heart - the heart she knew and loved so much. She knew her husband loved her more than anything and she didn't need overpriced roses to tell her so.

So here is my tribute to my Sweetheart and the big and little ways he chooses to SHOW me he loves me all year long!

*He empties the dishwasher for me because he knows I would rather load it.
*He calls me to tell me that he loves me and is thinking about me.
*He rubs my feet while we are watching TV together.
*He greets me with hugs and kisses.
*He tells me thank you for the things I do.
*He takes out the garbage without ever complaining.
*He changes the shower setting after he is done to the one he knows I like.
*He still opens my car door for me - in and out - every time, even after all these years!
*He cooks Sunday dinner every week - his idea when we first married and still doing it.
*He tells me many times every day how much he loves me.
*He listens to me when I am frustrated, sad, or angry.
*He is my best friend.

Thanks Babe for not giving me flowers on Valentines. I'll take your gifts instead anyday!

PS Just so you don't think I am completely hard-hearted about the day of love, here is my attempt at showing my Sweetheart that I love him. Heart shaped pancakes!

More Low Tech Grandma Woes

I am a full time student in college at the age of 54 and I love it, but there are serious issues when attending school at a university that doesn't speak the same language I do.

That's right, all of my professors and fellow students speak computer, and it is a foreign language to me.

I have learned a lot since I returned to school a little over a year ago, but I am still not a native speaker, nor am I fluent...yet. But I try. Yesterday one of the TA's (teacher assistant) for my Mass Communications class spent an hour and a half working with just me on a project that is half of my grade. Due to my lack of computer skills I was struggling with making it work and she just whipped it right out. I learned a lot, but now the question is if I will be able to remember a thing! Then there is my Marketing class. I have to do a presentation in a couple of weeks with "Power Point". Yea, like I have ever done that before either. It's okay though because I have learned that in this electronic world, if you don't know how to do something, just Google it. When did "google" become a verb anyway?

And then there is Math 1040...Intro to Statistics. I was so excited after last semester to never have to learn another Algebra formula. That was all before this class.

                            

My Sadistics...err...I mean Statistics teacher has taken it upon himself to teach us how to use Excel, which is great because I want to learn it. I know that for many jobs it will be an asset to have this as a skill, but could he slow down a little and do each step about five times please?? I guess I will be googling that one too. Or I hear YouTube works. By the end of class I felt like my head was going to explode and I was having a heart attack. I was considering drinking the Kool-Aid, but when I mentioned it to one of my fellow students they just gave me a quizzical look and asked what that means. Like that helped me feel any better about being the oldest one in the class. But never fear, I did make great progress in another area of technological expertise. I decided to text my husband as I walked to my car in the parking lot.

I see students doing it all day - texting as they walk through the crowded halls of the school.



And I did pretty good, until I about ended up in a flower bed! Yup, still got a few more details to work out until I am fluent at this technology thing. Just keep swimming...just keep swimming...