Grandchildren are a gift from God, presented to us on a silver platter as a reward for all the hard work of rearing our children. I am sure, the word “rearing” is the correct word, as taught by several English teachers from my past. I recall those “rearing days,” when I wondered if I could provoke better behavior in the little darlings with a swift kick in the rear. Sometimes it worked, other times not so much. But they grew up fine, good people and I like ‘em.
But now, it’s such a joy to see my grandchildren provoking their parents, who also consider giving that swift kick, a gentle nudge, or the steaming smokestack when things are not going so well. I must walk a precarious line with my children regarding my grandchildren. I must be very supportive in their efforts to create the perfect child, well-mannered, well-spoken, gentle, and kind, while supporting my grandchildren to spread their wings, dance on new adventures, and smile coyly at their parents. While I would like to teach the grandchildren to be devious, living on the edge of mischievousness, I fear that my children might deny me seeing them. Yikes. That would be awful.
Just for the record, I have wonderful grandchildren, and I am positive that they have never caused their parents a lick of difficulty. Wink, wink. Four teens, 14-19, all healthy, independent thinkers, who are looking the world over, trying to figure out where they will land, how to please their parents, and which parental advice they should take and which they shall give the boot. At this age, they want to be successful, of course, but when you are a teenager, what does success mean? Probably different from when I was a child or when their parents were defining it. Money? Status? Adventure? Independence? To be the best at something, or just stay out of jail? (We can all agree on that!) They may have something completely different from what our ideas were, and I can’t wait to find out where they will go and what they have in mind.
What I know is that life is meant to be lived, every day, every hour. That means hard work, a positive, can-do attitude, and looking outside every morning, with the slogan, “What a beautiful day. I wonder what it holds for me today.” We, Grandma and the Cowboy, aim at being ideal role models for our grandchildren, and they should ignore us when the Cowboy says, “Enough of this s***, let’s go find some trouble. We ain’t getting any younger and we’re burning daylight…”
