Our family has had an exciting week! We have a brand new family member! She is pictured above at less than one day old. Her parents thought about a name for her for nine months and after she was born they still could not decide. I called her, “Peek-a-boo,” for the last month. Now, I won’t need to call her Peek-a-boo anymore because she is, “Amelia.” It is a pretty name and it seems to suit her.
Janet Lanese wrote a book named, Grandmothers Are Like Snowflakes…No Two Are Alike.” Let me share with the rest of you her words of wisdom, advice, and funny observations.
Parent-child relationships are complex. Grandmother-grandchild relationships are simple. Grandmas are short on criticism and long on love.-Grandma Jan
The closest friends I have made all through life have been people who also grew up close to a loved and loving grandmother or grandfather.-Margaret Mead
Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.-James Baldwin
Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children.-Proverbs 17:6
God gave us loving grandchildren as a reward for all our random acts of kindness.-Grandma Jan
For an old lady, my grandmother’s memory is unbelievable. She has eighteen grandchildren and she still remembers all of our names.-Brian (age twelve)
What Is a Grandmother?
by Patsy Gray (age nine)
A grandmother is a lady who has no children of her own so she likes other people’s little girls. A grandfather is a man grandmother. He goes for walks with the boys, and they talk about fishing and tractors, and things like that. Grandmothers don’t have to do anything except be there. They’re old, so they shouldn’t play hard or run. It is enough if they drive us to the market where the pretend horse is and have lots of dimes ready. Or, if they take us for walks, they should slow down past things like pretty leaves and caterpillars. They should never say, “Hurry up!”
Usually they are fat, but not too fat to tie a kid’s shoes. They wear glasses and funny underwear. They can take their teeth and gums off.
It’s better if they don’t typewrite or play cards except with us. They don’t have to be smart, only answer questions like why dogs hate cats, and how come God isn’t married.
They don’t talk baby talk like visitors do because it is hard to understand. When they read to us, they don’t skip or mind if it is the same story again.
Everybody should try to have one, especially if you don’t have television, because grandmothers are the only grown-ups who have time.-Ruth Goode
Night, night Amelia. Nana loves you!