Grandma's intuition?

Just found out our new grandbaby in the making is a boy. We are all very excited. I don't know if I had any idea or feeling about the gender, but, I have been crocheting in colors that are suitable for the little guy. Who knew? I can't wait to wrap the little fellow in these and hold him in my arms...

Boomers...Boom boom pow

I have been thinking a lot lately about being a grandma. As a 56 year old, mother of 3 grown children, 2 married, one to be married in April, and grandmother of 1, ( the most adorable baby ever).

Anyway... I have thought a lot about my grandmother ( We only had 1 living grandparent growing up). From my very 1st memory of her she was "old".  I have tried to disseminate this...was she really old, or, because I was a child, she seemed old as did everyone over 40? She was old! But not chronologically. She was probably my age when I have memories of her. She was a lovely woman, and great to us, but she seemed so "old"! She wore sensible shoes, kind of boot like things with chunky heals. She wore sensible dresses, aprons and wore her hair in a curly, "grandma" perm, naturally gray. She wore no makeup that I can recall. She did nothing to make herself look attractive. She was a widow with children and grandchildren and her life was all about them. I get that part, I love my kids, and am crazy about my granddaughter. But that is about all that my grandma and I have in common. I am convinced that because we are among the largest cohorts according to age...the Boomers, we are able to create our own vision of life as we age. This is what a 56 year old grandmother looks like today...

 We wear makeup, we color our hair, we worry about our weight, health and diet. We drink wine because we like it, and also because a glass or 2 each day is supposed to be healthy. We enjoy time with our spouses, we go to movies, concerts, plays, we travel, we go to the gym. We try to live longer. We try to live well. We have a life! I find the whole "Boomer" thing empowering. Because there are so many of us, WE RULE! We can decide what we do, how we age. We are not our grandparents!
I saw Pat Benetar recently on TV. She looks great. She's 60, still looks great. She sang "We are young, we are invincible..." It rang true...not so much the "invincible " part, because so many of us take pills for cholesterol, high blood pressure, etc, etc, etc... But the we are young part...It's so much a state of mind. WE ARE YOUNG! At least young at heart. We feel good about our lives, our families, ourselves.
I have a good friend at work who just turned 60. She is so cute. Wears her hair in a short blond spiked do. She wears cute, colorful, trendy clothes. She is awesome.  When I was little, 60 year old women did not look like her. They looked like my grandma.
I'm glad the rules have changed, I'm glad we get to change the rules! Maybe there are no rules. That's the best part of all. We get to make it up as we go along.


My husband is studying for a degree in gerontology.  He likes to use me as an example.  We are the study group, we baby boomers. Sometimes it's fun, other times it is annoying. I am analyzed.. .I have decided to go back to school. Boomers like to learn I am told, we like to expand our horizons... we are not content to rest on our laurels, whatever they may be. We are looking toward the future because we believe the future is good and holds promise.
I loved my grandma. But I am glad I was born 2 generations after her. We are not tied to the same old age mind set.
That's a good thing!

Grandma? Grandma!

I have been asked by many, since hearing the news that we are about to be grandparents, how do I feel about it? Well...if you had asked me 8 months ago, I would have told you that I was much too young! I would have told you that "grandma" is really an awful title, nothing glam about it, brings to mind a gray haired, stooped little old lady...

Then I found out my daughter is pregnant. Grand baby #1 is due in late Feb. Immediately I became a grandma! No qualms, no pretense that I am of the proper age or not. ( I have been old enough to be a grandma for many years). I am going out to stay with them nearer the due date. I can't wait to hold that baby in my arms. It is indeed a very new emotion I feel, knowing my daughter is soon to be a mother. She has been an amazing  mom to be. Very little complaining, very calm, probably because she has no idea really what is to come. To know she will soon feel that same unconditional, boundless love for her child that I felt for her, for all my children, still feel for them, makes my heart swell.
I remember well, when I found out I was pregnant with her. She was our 2nd child. I wondered how would it be possible to love another child as much as I loved the 1st. How would it be possible to make room in my heart that was so full, bursting with that love. As all mothers of more that 1 child know, there is room, there is infinite room. The minute I saw her I fell in love all over again. That's the wonderful thing about LOVE. It is boundless. It is limitless. It multiplies.( Kind of like compound interest.) It just keeps on growing.I have been surprised that there is still room in my heart for more of that love. I feel that same limitless love for my grand daughter to be. I already know she will be special, perfect, the best grand baby ever! Until the next one comes along and then we will have another special, perfect, best and so on and so on and so on...

Can't wait to see this new little member of the family. Can't wait to watch her parents, a couple, become a family. Can't wait to welcome her into this world, to love her, cherish her and watch her grow into a wonderful person, like her mother. God Bless baby, mom and dad. Thank God for the opportunity to be a grandma.