Sincerely Yours, Jumana Swindler
I
contributing writer
Grand Baby Love
Nothing can sharpen or shake up the five senses so thoroughly as being in love. Whoaaa. Now slow down. This isn’t about that fragile giddiness you feel when you think you’ve met the man of your dreams or the heart palpitations and hot flashes that come all over you when Mr. Right smacks that big kiss on ‘ya. Remember what I taught you. That’s the kind of love that should over time get comfortable and relaxed -- like your favorite pair of old sneakers or baggy gray sweats that you wear to walk on the beach when you don’t care who is watching.
I am talking about baby love, and not the kind that Mommy and Daddy feel when they swoon over
their precious bundle of joy. It’s the love a grandparent feels when they cuddle with a cutey patooty that reminds them of the best parts of what they have inherited from their predecessors or passed on to their own children. Like a wonderful book or story preserved for ages ahead, as grandparents, we can consider our-
selves “first editions” with enough improvements made along the way that we see the newest versions, a classic in living color, in our grands. And isn’t “grand” a great word for these darling offspring and our love for them? I know why they
are called grands. They really are. The definition of grand: “denoting something large or the most important item of its kind.” Yep, that’s what grandchildren are. They rank above everything else. At least in my dictionary and life. By the way, do you clip and save things? Well my mom and grand mom were notorious for it, post- ing thought provoking messages on the refrigerator that is, especially Dear Abby warnings and sage advice. Here are some of my favorite quotes about grandchildren and grand parenting. Feel free to tape to your icebox:
• Perfect love sometimes does not come until the first grandchild. ~Welsh Proverb • Never have children, only grandchildren. ~Gore Vidal • When grandparents enter the door, discipline flies out the window. ~Ogden Nash • Everyone needs to have access both to grandparents and grandchildren in order to be a full human being. ~Margaret Mead
• To become a grandparent is to enjoy one of the few pleasures in life for which the consequences have already been paid. ~Robert Brault,
• A mother becomes a true grandmother the day she stops noticing the terrible things her children do because she is so enchanted with the wonderful things her grandchildren do. ~Lois Wyse
• On the seventh day God rested. His grandchildren must have been out of town. ~Gene Perret Getting back to those heightened senses when you’re in grand love. Ever notice how the smell of
baby skin, especially when you sniff the crook of that sweet thing’s neck, renders you weak in the knees. Not even a poopy diaper shakes that effect away. When you feed the grand, whether as an infant with a bottle or when you play airplane with the spoon of nasty looking green peas that look like a prop from the Exorcist (first version, scary one), your little loves look you in the eyes and say wordlessly, “I trust your instincts that this is good for me.” That bond establishes a whole future of honesty and secrets to be shared. When you hold those fingers in your own sanitizer rough hands, noticing the little digits compared to your sun-bleached skin and age spots, you remember God’s Grace in the circle of life and feel blessed to be included in His perfect plans. And it’s your job to teach it at future opportunities along the way. Sometimes you taste those tears, shed by your grands’ growing pains. Bittersweet, they are droplets
and reminders that hurt also makes us cherish the wonderful. And most of all, when you hear the sweetness of their giggles or the squeaky little voice calling out your name, the tingle in your own belly or lump in your throat reminds you that it’s true love. So with Silver in our hair and Gold in our hearts, grandparents unite. It’s the best way to celebrate this month’s occasion to focus on love, laughter and life. Happy Valentine’s Day to all. 1 Corinthians 13:4
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February 2014
shemagazine.com
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