Truths: Grandma?

So, I have some BIG news to share… I am going to be a grandma! Now, I am 38 years old so that isn’t just BIG news: it is WOW news.. See when I told my college roommates a few weeks ago (I didn’t want to publicly announce anything until my step-daughter went to the Dr.)… my friends were so not expecting that news.

In fact, a day before we got together for dinner, I emailed them and said, “I have big news to share.”

So, as we sat down to dinner and ordered cocktails – everyone stared at me when I ordered – a Coors Light. The sighed: knowing now I was NOT pregnant. The drink card was how we ALWAYS knew when one of us was pregnant…

Their curiosity was killing them so I blurted out, “I am going to be a grandma!”

Silence fell across the table. I could feel them counting how many years old my daughter Abby was and their blank stares growing bolder.

“It is Kristin, Bill’s oldest daughter.”

Relief across the table and then, “So, what will the baby call you?”

“Grandma?” I said with newfound hesitation.

“Oh, I think we need to come up with something different. You are too young to be grandma.”

Which, in hindsight, also meant they were too young to be grandmas.

The spouted out names like Mima, Gigi, etc. Hmm, I kind of like Mima…

Anyway, I asked them what they thought the news would be and it was things like they thought I started a business, I finished my book, got a new job, etc…

I guess you never know what is going to change your life.

I am going to be a grandma… and I can’t even express the excitement I am feeling.

I never envisioned being a grandma at this age – but it goes with the territory when you marry someone 13 years older than you.

But, I also think being a grandma at this age is an unlikely blessing – since I could still be having children of my own I feel like I am really going to enjoy it. Not to mention I still have baby toys and blankets and Abby’s beautiful crib. Coming to grandma and grandpa’s to stay the night and play is ready at anytime now.

The hardest part is walking by the adorable baby garb wherever I go… Cute pink onesies, little socks, soft blankets, eyelet dresses that all adorn the shelves. Holding back is getting harder everyday.

Then there is this whole feeling of when will we get the baby for the weekend… How often will be able to see the baby… Should we move closer so we can take care of the baby if Kristin goes back to work?

It is nuts how these thoughts enter my brain especially since I have been yearning for non-baby, non-kid time for the last 10 years... ever since Abby was born.

I have been grateful to be finished with midnight wakings, dirty diapers and whiney two-year old tantrums and now I cannot wait for all it!

Being a grandma isn’t about age or life stages – it is realizing that you get to be the fun person in someone’s life. You get to actually enjoy a baby because for one: you know what you are doing but mostly, because the time you spend with your grandchild is limited and so it becomes cherished.

There are 7 more months to go and already I picture this little human running into grandma and grandpa’s to be spoiled rotten – wrapped around our fingers. Most of all, I know that we are already in love and head over heels for the grandchild we have yet to meet. 38 or not, I can’t wait to be a “grandma.”