11/30/2016

At the age of fifty I joyfully became the legal guardian to my tiny grandson. Being a mom and grandmother is the greatest blessing I've ever received. I have two adult children and four grandchildren. Starting over, no, let me re-phrase that, beginning new chapters in our lives offered a different set of challenges that I never encountered before. (There's so much to write about, but I'll keep this short.)

Now six years later, I've gotten comfortable being the oldest mom in preschool, kindergarten, and now first grade. Everything is different. Well, almost everything. I've had numerous reflective moments and see that my parenting style, values, faith, and unconditional love has not changed. In fact, I feel complete now.

Family, friends, and others say what a blessed boy my grandson is. I say it is I who am so blessed. It seems we needed each other. So, when he started calling me "mommy" at two years old, I did not correct him. Being told that I've been the only "mommy" he knows, yes, it just felt right.

I've also met many other grandparents who are the primary caregivers of their grandchild(ren) and there are no support groups and little, if any, literature.

It would be enlightening to highlight this family dynamic.