When I was younger, I always imagined that my mom would be the one who stayed home with the grandkids and do all the typical babysitting duties. As I was growing up, she was the typical mom…home most of the time, easily accessible, very nuturing…so I assumed that she would also be the typical grandma. Rocking babies to sleep and baking cookies. My dad on the other hand was always at work. Don't get me wrong, he was involved when he was home, but he worked long hours so he just wasn't as visible a presence in our lives when my brother and I were young. Basically, he was a typical dad…so again I expected him to be a typical grandpa. Maybe go fishing, or on walks in the woods, you know…they typical "outdoorsy" things you do with grandpas. Hmmmm…where is this going you are wondering?
My dad retired a few years ago and has been super helpful with all of our home renovation projects and fix-it-up projects around the house! My mom manages the store in the "nut house" (no, really I am not being rude…it is a company primarily known for selling nuts, coffee, and candy…but mostly nuts). So, when I discovered I was pregnant with C, I started to think about who would care for him when/if I had to work. I knew daycare wasn't really an option b/c that would be expensive for the amount of money that I would be making at a part-time job. So as I considered the options and talked to my parents about it, the obvious solution shined down on us. Have Grampy be the babysitter. Seems simple enough, right? Sure, but then when you start to think about it, it gets a little cloudy. A grandpa watching the baby?? Is that done? Would they even know what to do with an infant? (According to legend, most guys of the older generations were not as involved in the everyday childcare as dads are today!) Would he have the patience to deal with a fussy little one? I always imagined grandma watching the baby if I wasn't there…this was a little out of my realm. But I knew that he would do his very best, especially after seeing his reaction when he met his grandson for the first time! Amazingly, it has worked out even better than I could have imagined.
C loved his grandpa from the very start and it is so nice to see the bond that they share grow each day. Grampy does cool stuff like wash dogs, prune trees, and fix mowers. They oil doors and use power tools to fix drawers and take nice naps. He also makes sure the juice cup is full and meals are balanced. Really, what more could a 2 yo boy ask for? [Here is where you will need a little background info: People in our house don't have names unless they are Daddy…apparently, the only person worth calling by his name is J and if he isn't around, the rest of us are just substitute "Daddy"s. ]
C's love for Grampy has always been clear BUT, now, he has even granted Grampy a name!!! His name is "Bic"! J
Not Creepy-At-All Question of the Day: What type of relationship does your child have with the grandparents? Ours is interesting b/c of the fact that grandpa is the caregiver and grandma is the funny, game-playing, chasing one. But, also, C has little interaction with J's mom and boyfriend. So, he basically makes do with one set of grandparents. This saddens me some times, but other times I just deal with it. One set is better than no sets at all…
Good Things:
*I escaped my home confinement once again and went to Babies R Us to get the boys some bottles. It was a fun little trip and I realized that I get so obsessed with the silliest things!
*C granted Grampy his name and we all celebrated!
*This was the first time in 3 weeks that my mom came over to my house and didn't have to take me to the hospital!!
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