My Grandson Loves Me...Honest

My Grandson Loves Me… Honest.

I was 58 years old when I became a grandmother.
Before receiving this title, I attended many baby showers for the daughters of good friends, and family. And after these special little bundles of joy arrived, I can honestly say that every one of them touched my heart. Their sweet little faces, their intoxicating smells, and the “comical” way their features reflected those of their parents….just magical.

But even after admitting all of this, I still never quite got that “special love bond” these grandmothers claimed they felt for their grandchildren.
After all, giving birth to your own child is one of the most humbling and life changing experiences a woman can have, right?
So what could top that?
Then I found out.
Don’t ask me to explain it. I can’t. “Yes”, everyone says, “Of course he’s great, you can give him back whenever he’s cranky”!
But that’s not it. It’s true. But that’s not it.

When my grandson, Dominic, was only a few days old, that “special bond” started to form.
I was the one who could always calm him. I was the one who could always get him to sleep, and I was the one who always knew exactly what he needed. We had this telepathy thing going. He knew, I knew. And I knew, he knew, I knew.

Now that he is a toddler, that bond is even stronger. I am still the one who can get him to eat. I am the body he scales in the middle of chaos, and I am the one he turns to when no one else gets it.
He makes me feel whole again, (in a way I didn’t know I was broken)!
Okay, enough with the “bonding” talk.

My daughter is now expecting my second grandchild.
She asked if I could come over one morning to watch Dominic so she could have blood work done.
“Yes, of course”, I say. I had never watched him so early in the day, and was looking forward to being the first face he saw when he woke up!

When I got to her house, she recited his usual morning routine, thanked me, kissed me, and with a promise to be back as soon as possible, was out the door…

I am thinking this departure was probably a lot different from how it went down “back in the day”…..before we all contracted CPD, (Cell Phone Dependency).

I remember giving my sitter a list of numbers to call in case of an emergency, showing her where we kept the syrup of ipecac, demonstrating the alternate “fire escape” route, and giving her the name of a neighbor I could trust with my life.
But since my daughter and I have both become “cell sufficient”, this information isn’t quite as critical.

Unfortunately for me, Dominic was sleeping a little later than he normally did. I checked on him periodically, (every 5 minutes), to see if he was stirring. He wasn’t. He was snoring like a lumberjack….must be a male thing.
So I finally went back to the family room to watch TV. It took me about 10 minutes to figure out their remote. And after congratulating myself for not having to “text” my daughter with questions, I heard him cry out.
Yippee, he’s awake!

I walk into his room to find him sitting up, rubbing his eyes, and making little baby noises.
“Good Morning Sweetie, Nana is here!”
No response….he probably didn’t see me, still in a dreamy daze.
Planting a kiss on the top of his little head, I greet him again, a little more gently.
“Good Morning little man. It’s Nana!”

With a look of horror on his face, he points to the door and whimpers, “Mama”!

What??? It’s me, Nana! You know, the one who dotes on your every move? The one who is always here for you? The one with the “special bond” thing going on???

Still, he has this look of disappointment on his face. I attempt to pick him up. He pushes me away. He cries out. Again, with the “Mama” stuff!

Finally…. after several minutes of me reenacting “The Greatest Show on Earth”, (sorry Barnum and Bailey, but I was desperate), he let me pick him up.
We laughed, we played, and all was well with the world again!

True to her word, my daughter came home in what I thought was way too short of time.
She asked how things went. I inform her that all went well. He was great. He was happy. We had a good time, no problems.
No need to make her feel badly for not being here when he woke up. And no need to let her know he was a little upset to see me instead of her.

After all, everyone knows that my grandson and I have a “special bond”. And he loves me dearly…Honest.