Baby Boomer Grandparent

Wow! I thought it was hard enough being a grandparent living so close to my grandchildren that we could visit anytime. How close is too close? My son and daughter-in-law have moved into our home with three small children. I love them all dearly. That being said – talk about biting my tongue. It is a tricky situation and one that needs to be balanced carefully. It’s my home but it is their home also. I am the grandparent not the parent. How do you divide chores? Who is going to cook? Should we all eat together or separately as two families? Did I forget how loud children can be? Will my bathroom ever be a sanctuary again? How many cartoons can you watch?

Surprisingly, so far it has been easy – noisy- but easy. First, let me tell you that my daughter-in-law is a sweetheart. Kind and considerate. My son is considerate also but then I am his mother and can still give him a time out even though he is 34 years old. I have decided to keep a diary on this site and hope readers will submit their own stories and comments about this topic. The characters will remain anonymous (they know who they are) but for ease of writing I shall name them Dad, Mom, Sissy, Sonny and Baby (The Family).

Chapter One

The Family is moving in today. Dad has rented a truck and the many friends he has moved over the years are more than willing to return the favor. He is certain that all of their worldly possessions will fit in grammy’s house. After all, they are moving from a small townhome. During this temporary stay they will have 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 4 closets and one TV room for their own personal use and shared use of the rest of the house. I mention this lest you think I have relegated them to the basement.

The truck arrives, packed to the gills and the unloading begins. Boxes of clothes and items that will not be needed until the final move go to the basement. Bedroom furniture is set up and Grammy and the kids start putting clothes away and making beds. Some furniture goes in the living room, four couches are better than two right? Televisions and toys in the basement. Desks and end tables in the garage. The truck is almost empty and I think this just might work out fine. Not too cluttered.

Dad heads to the garage and yells, “we’ll be back in about an hour with the next load”. The next load? Okay , I won’t keep you in suspense. Two loads later, the basement is stacked floor to ceiling, the living room also has a new chair, the end tables have become nightstands, my home office has two computers, the garage has a new freezer, bookcases, tools and a stereo system. Great grandma’s shed has a grill, patio furniture, play house and bikes. Everyone is tired and tomorrow is a new day!

This entry was posted on Monday, March 28th, 2011 at 1:14 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.