There is nothing like it on earth and at anytime in our lives. It is not the people that we marry, they may make our hearts flutter but they do not make them smile. It is not our children, they may make our hearts swell with pride, but they do not make our hearts smile, It is not the homes we own or the possessions we hold, they may make our hearts content or worry depending on our fiscal responsibilities to them. It is not our pets, they may make our hearts calmer, but they do not make our hearts smile. What really makes our hearts smile are our grandchildren!
As a younger person I wondered why grandparents acted so silly or goofy about grandchildren and it took becoming a Grandma to understand it. Grandchildren usually come at a time in life that we are no longer needed, if we did our job, right. Our children are busy, independent, and quite capable of running their own lives. Most of us are slow to catch on, that they have grown up, but none-the-less we eventually get there. Most of us, are settling in looking at what retirement might be. We have noticed that people just do not ask for our advise or opinions like they use to when we were younger. Then along comes that first grandchild!
There, truly, is nothing like it on earth. This totally helpless, sweet. little person that is just discovering life. They are all very darling. We may see the homely little baby in someone elses’ grandchild, but when it comes to our grandchildren ours are always the CUTEST! If we have been smart enough to realize that our children ARE capable of choosing their own mates and welcoming them to our hearts, and to show the respect they BOTH deserve, without constant interference, criticism or living a lifestyle they find offensive, this little person will be the one that carries our memory on to eternity.
They do not bring with them the same awesome responsibility and concern if we can raise them to be the person they need to be, as our children did. There will never be anyone on earth, that can replace the love that we have for our children, but there will always be more room, than what most of us ever dreamt of, to include those sweet little people that become, our grandchildren, in our hearts. Just to see them or a picture of them brings a smile to our entire bodies and relieves the pain that living has built up. We especially feel the smile in our hearts.
They are what pulls the entire puzzle of life together. They are the whip cream on the dessert. They are the stars above. They look at us with such trust, just as our children once did, and immediately, we remember being young again, when we also believed that with a dream, hard work and with a little luck, all things are possible. Holding that grandchild in our arms again, we know that the whole purpose of life, up to this point, has been to be a grandparent, to this sweet little child. For a little while we are invisible against all of the problems of life! Nothing else matters!
That’s really sweet. I’m sure your grandkids love you back and are lucky to have such a good grandmom.
We all dream of that ability to still matter.:) Although we know we have a lot to accomplish yet, most of us are mature enough to know, that it is the people in our lives and how we treat them ,that ultimately decides our own success.