by Cath Hammack, "Nanni" to eight grandchildren
There are so many benevolent names for grandmothers and our
melting pot of ethnicity provides new blends of loving endearments
like: Grandmama, Maw-Maw, Nana, Mimi, Babcia, G-Ma, Mamie,
Grand-mère, Nonna, Abuela, YaYa, Bube, Memo, Mams, Lola, Oma, Mor
Mor, Farmor, Lita, E-li-si, Gammlemor, and many more.
In many cultures the grandparents play a significant role in
raising their grandkids. As time evolved, America departed
from that tradition, but with the many problems that many parents
face today, many grandparents are either legal guardians of their
grandkids or they are sharing a home with their children and
grandkids.
I have eight grandkids from fourteen to nine months old. I
am so fortunate to have them all living in the Tri-Cities. I have
three Granddaughters and five Grandsons. One Grandson is in heaven,
but I have many stories to tell about our relationship before he
became an Angel. I love the saying "The secret of life is to
skip having children and go directly to grandkids." It is so true
about how I feel about my grandkids. Though I thoroughly love my
three children and have a great relationship with them I really do
enjoyed my grandparent time. I am a working grandparent and have to
split my time between my husband, work, and my grandkids with a
little time left for the adult children. My weekends are busy with
my grandkids and I love it.
The family tries to get together on Sundays for "Dinner and A
Movie Night" but that is challenge with a two year-old, a bored
expressive six year old and a mobile crawler, at times. It does
bring laughter though as we get into the movie and discover a
missing baby or a mischievous two or three-year-old is up to
something; the movies are paused over and over again and we laugh
that we may not finish the movie by the next movie night. The
challenges we have encountered is to how to entertain as many of
the family members attending the "Dinner and A Movie Night" as
possible. Choice of movie is critical and we have found that
many of the classics movies works best for us, some of my
suggestions are: Wizard of Oz, live action Disney with an
animated one now and then, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Willy Wonka and
the Chocolate Factory, or the Indiana Jones series. So pop
some popcorn, dispense the candy, pour some soda pop and put on a
movie. My tip to save the floor is lay a tarp down on
the floor and put a thick quilt on top, throw some pillows around,
gather the grandkids, and then relax and make memories.