The Joys of Grandchildren

What is it about grandchildren that makes grown men weep with happiness and grown women swoon? I have seen surly, old, curmugeonly sour goats wipe tears from their eyes when presented with a brand new grandbaby. Grandchildren make us feel youthful. They give us boundless joy. They make us feel smart and their love is unconditional. Our very own grandson turned 3 years old last week. Another milestone along with tons of presents. I remember when he was first born. So tiny, he could fit in the palm of your hand. And now he's as tall as the kitchen counter top, healthy, lively and has developed his own distinct personality---sweet and sassy with a pranksterish sense of humor. He loves toy cars and trucks, pizza, cookies, and jumping sky high on the mini trampeline we bought him. Sadly for his granddad and me, we live 1000 miles away from our little dynamo and his family. After he was born, we discovered that we missed him terribly and we realized that we lived too far away to witness his growing up. To see our little guy more often, we bought a small second home near where our daughter and son-in-law live. That way we can stay at the condo for as long as we want and our grandson can visit us and we can visit him and his parents without being bothersome, long-term houseguests.

We dearly treasure the moments of our grandson's childhood. They are very special times that pass much, much too quickly. Seems like just a few months ago, he couldn't speak yet. We were worried he'd never talk. Now he's a savvy conversationalist and often mimicks our sentences like a parrot on steroids.

As our generation of urbane baby boomers become grandparents, we are shelving the traditional old titles like "Grandma" and "Grandpa". Frankly, I just couldn't imagine myself and my husband being called "Granny" and "Gramps". For me, those names conjure up images of stodgy, old, white haired elders in rocking chairs. Yet at the same time, isn't it hilarious what crazy, wacky and silly names grown men and women are willing to be called by their grandchildren? Some grandparent nicknames stem from ethnic or family traditions. Others come from the mind of a 2 year old. A few examples: Bagoo, Bella, Boompa, Cozy, Custard, Oma, Opa, Foxie, Peaches, Meemo, Pop Pop, Mimi, Pepper, Queenie, Popsie. In the long run, I suppose these tags are just as quirky and quaint as Grandma and Grandpa. But let's face it: our grandkids can call us anything and we melt.

Oh and click on this to see an hysterical bunch of rockin' grandbabies:
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