Over the river and through the woods

A picture I stole from facebook. Those feet are not Jim's and mine, those are Katie's and Christian's. So Jim and I get promoted from dad and mom to Granddad and Grandma! And all the kids get promoted to aunt and uncles!  (except Katie, who is already an aunt to Christian's nephews)(and besides, Kate will be promoted to Mom!)

First of all, my official mother of the mother-to-be congratulations to Katie! And mother-in-law congratulations to Christian as well!

Yes, I have known about this for a while, but Katie made me not broadcast it because she wanted to do it herself, which I guess I can understand.

I can't wait to be a grandma! I had two fantastic grandmas from which to draw some lessons on how to be a grandma. Sadly both of them have gone on to heavenly things, one just little while ago. Grandma Hawley, if you're listening, you are going to be a great-great grandma! I wish I could have told you while you were still here. And Grandma Talberg, you are a great-great grandma several times over but I still would have liked to tell you too.

Some lessons I learned from Grandma Hawley: take the grandchildren to be with aunts and uncles and cousins. Get out of the way of the cousin fun. Buy pizza and Kentucky Fried chicken. Let them watch The Price is Right. Take them to movies. Make desserts for them. Smell good. Smile and laugh a lot. Tell stories of the grandchildren's parents often and make sure to point out that they were bad sometimes, but still loved. Keep dress up clothes and Barbies for the girls to play with. Always have gum on hand. Buy them treats when in town. Send them out to gather eggs from the chickens, or out to get the mail. Show them how to get the dog to do tricks. Let them sit in the recliners and recline. Smile and give them hugs when they come to visit.

Some lessons I learned from Grandma Talberg: Tell grandchildren to be careful (an offshoot of this is to have a "catchphrase" that your grandchildren can giggle about behind their hands--Grandma Talberg's was "No, you don't know" whenever we said, "We know" to her admonitions to be careful at the park or the pool. We still say that in remembrance of Grandma Talberg). Cook wonderful dinners with lots of food. Grow lots of food. Send the kids outside to play. Let them go to the park and to the pool. Let them watch "I Dream of Jeannie." Tell them stories of poltergeists in the house. Give them Honeycomb cereal. Take them shopping with you. Let them go to the library by themselves. Keep candy in glass dishes around the house and let them have some even close to dinner time. Pay them 25 cents to straighten the rugs. Smile and give them hugs when they come over.

There are also lessons to be learned from my own mother. She's a wonderful grandma. Write letters to them. Send stickers, gum, and the occasional dollar bill. Teach them to play the piano. Pay them to pick up sticks and pinecones. Build fires for them. Have Easter egg hunts for them. Make them do a Christmas program. Sew for them. Have them over to clean your cupboards and let them stand on the counters to do it. Give them ice cream. Buy them books. Go to Bethesda Thrift store with them. Get lost while driving. Talk to them. Take them to the Arboretum and let them run around. Have a toy closet and a toy hall. Have puzzles on hand. Smile and give them hugs when they visit.

From all three of them, I have learned to leave the lecturing to the parents.

Bring on the baby!