Tonight was a rare night. The hubby is traveling for work and my mom (a.k.a. Grams) has been gracious enough to help out with daycare duty while he’s gone. As a bonus my mother-in-law (a.k.a Grandma) volunteered to drive up and watch Eli for a day, something she LOVES to do, but doesn’t get to do very often. As luck would have it, Grams picked up Eli from work and Grandma and I met her for the last summer concert downtown. Two grandmas in one enclosed area, competing for the attention of a 1 year with the attetion span of a gold fish! Let the battle begin!
I am, of course, exaggerating. Both Grandmas are wonderful, caring and thoughtful women. But it is interesting to observe how each interacts with Eli and even more interesting to imagine each grandma with myself or Mike as a child. Grams for instance, has a more laid back approach, helping when needed but also letting Eli explore and learn on his own. She’s very involved with him, but knows when it’s time for him to figure out how things work by doing it himself. Does Eli want to read 8 Silly Monkeys, but turn the pages himself? Yes he does! I can just see my mom helping me and my sisters with an art project, but stepping back and letting us figure out what happens when you mix blue and yellow paint (look Ma, it turned green!).
On the other hand, Grandma has a very energetic approach, running here and there with Eli, hovering over his every move, making sure that each and every one of his needs are take care of. Could he be hungry? Bring out the Goldfish! Is he cold? Here’s a sweat shirt! I can imagine her playing with Mike as a toddler, being involved with everything he does so she doesn’t miss a thing.
I guess the point of this isn’t to point out how different they are, or to say one is better than the other. The point is that I’m so grateful to have two very involved grandmas in my son’s life (and grandpas too, but we’ll get to that later). Both of these g-mas bring a different perspective to raising a child. Both bring a different, but similar, set of valuse to the table. And both love my little boy with all of their heart. I wouldn’t trade either one for anything in the world.
Oh, no veggies today, it was PBJ night, which Eli did of course wolf down. Oh well, tomorrow is another day.
Grams and 4 month old Eli
Grandma and 4 month old Eli
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The funny thing is she really didn’t do that to me. Maybe sometimes, but I spent a lot of my childhood on solo missions through the woods behind the house.
I guess it’s different for Eli.