I have always wanted to be a grandparent.  Even as a child I would watch out for the well being of other children.  When I worked at the Jewish Community Center as a kind of clerk/secretary for the summer camp, there was a young girl who was probably not more than 6 and was fairly manipulative who I pitied.  She seemed neglected.  I rode the buses with the children, and when we dropped her off she was always left playing alone in her front yard.

Grandmothers and their joys and waiting patiently for what will be.

She was frequently reprimanded for misbehavior, which I would say was attention getting(not at all a professional designation…(I was 14).  Sometimes she was given a time out and I was supposed to ignore her, but I never did that very well.

There were neighbors on the corner of the street where I lived.  It was one of the neighborhoods built to welcome WWII soldiers home.   The homes were simple and small by today’s standards.  Two of the younger children (who lived at three houses down from us, loved when I would come and play with them.  I was old enough to pick them up and whirl them around in circles so that I got dizzy(it was fun) and they were flying(which was also fun).

Now my three children are grown.   One is in her 40’s and knows that it is unlikely that she will have a child.  She is a research scientist and a mostly self taught computer geek and has no likelihood of marriage in sight.  She has health issues that would make a safe pregnancy unlikely.

My second adult child is the only one living nearby.   I adore him and love his wife.   They want to have a child, but can’t afford to now.  I don’t say anything about that except that I support whatever choice they decide is best for them.  Of course, I hope someday to be a grandmother, and my husband would love to be a grandfather.  But our first wish is for them to be doing and deciding what is best for them and supporting them.

My youngest boy is studying in Hungary at the moment and wants to be an anthropologist.  He travels a great deal and is very interested in cultural anthropology and has worked in the nearby country of Georgia for several years.

Sweetly, he once asked me if he could have some books from my collection of children’s books if he has children. ( I am trained as a librarian and a social worker, but I really love libraries the best of the two)  Of course, I said yes.  However, he is also a traveller and a studious hard working young man, and his frequent travels would not make raising and supporting a family easy unless his wife whoever she may be, could travel and take the kids along.  He doubts that he will settle in the US in the near future as he is interested in studying and doing research in east European and Asian countries.

So for the time being I admire other grandmothers grandchildren, and tell almost all of them that every grandmother has the best grandchildren.  Not surprisingly they mostly agree.

rosie
born, lived, cried, appreciated, lost, found, lived, laughed, flew in my dreams,
taught others to fly in their dreams, became a telescope reflecting the stars,
dove to the depths of despair ,recovered and walked along the beach as the water escaped from the sea and erased my footprints.