Tag Archive for: grandma

Life Lessons from a Toddler

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By Evelyn David

I’m blessed with the smartest, prettiest, sweetest granddaughter on earth (I add here a poo, poo to ward off any evil eyes, per the original Evelyn), as well as the invitation for any other Grandma to question my definitive statement.

But what I’ve also discovered is how much I’ve learned from this little bundle of energy.

1. Naps are for sissies (and Grandmas). This child objects to sleeping. Doesn’t need it, doesn’t want it. Perfectly willing to entertain herself for 20 minutes in her crib, looking at books, but after that, there’s a world to explore and time’s a wastin. She’s right about the world. I’ve been seeing it through her eyes and it is wondrous. (She’s wrong about the sleeping thing, but that may be my old body talking).

2. With ketchup, anything is edible. She refers to it as “dip.” With “dip,” she’s willing to taste anything. It’s not a bad approach to life. I believe Mary Poppins might have sung, “a spoonful of ketchup makes anything go down.”

3. “Den, pease.” Quick Grandma translation. “You’ve read this book to me 1,000 times, but again please.” Now I absolutely agree with this philosophy. I have books that I adore, that I can reread knowing full well whodunnit, or who ends up with whom, or that the happy ending is sappy. I love them, they give me comfort, and “den, pease,” is right up my alley.

4. Winnie the Pooh beats Big Bird and Princesses can be firefighters. I confess that I’ve got a thing for Winnie the Pooh, especially the 1977 movie with Sterling Holloway as the voice of the bear. I’ve been singing the songs to my granddaughter and she loves them (“Deep in the 100 Acre Woods,” “The Wonderful Thing about Tiggers,” sigh). Big Bird bores her. Me too.

I am also glad to see that we’ve got a little feminist on our hands. The Disney princess figurines routinely drive her toy firetruck, fighting fires and rescuing cats with the best of them. Girl Power!

5. Don’t ask a question you don’t want to hear the answer to. This piece of wisdom had been in full force when my own kids were young, but I recently had cause to remember it. This little independent spirit has a very polite, but equally definite “no,” in her repertoire and is given in response to many questions. Grandma: “Do you want to take a nap?” Quiet, definitive, “no.”

The other day I gave her a bath. She was running around in her diaper and I was trying to get her into jammies. “Do you want to put on your snowman pajamas?” I asked sweetly, if tiredly. “No,” came the equally sweet, definite response. Then it hit me. I swooped her up and declared, “That wasn’t a question, honey.” Pajamas on, she handed me “Night, Night Little Pookie,” by Sandra Boynton, one of her favorites, mine too. I read it and she smiled, cuddled, and said, “Den, pease.” No problem. The other lesson learned: Grandma is a pushover.

Marian, aka the Northern half of Evelyn David, also known as “Nandma”

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Brianna Sullivan Mysteries – e-book series
I Try Not to Drive Past Cemeteries- Kindle (Exclusive at Amazon this month)
The Dog Days of Summer in Lottawatah- Kindle – Nook – Smashwords
The Holiday Spirit(s) of Lottawatah- Kindle – Nook – Smashwords
Undying Love in Lottawatah- Kindle – Nook – Smashwords
A Haunting in Lottawatah – Kindle – Nook – Smashwords
Lottawatah Twister – Kindle – Nook – Smashwords
Missing in Lottawatah – Kindle – Nook – Smashwords

Sullivan Investigations Mystery – e-book series
Murder Off the Books Kindle – Nook – Smashwords
Murder Takes the Cake Kindle – Nook – Smashwords
Riley Come Home (short story)- Kindle – Nook – Smashwords
Moonlighting at the Mall (short story) – Kindle – Nook – Smashwords

Romances
Love Lessons – Kindle – Nook – Smashwords

Dating in the 21st Century

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The last two weeks have been busy ones in the household of the Northern half of Evelyn David. It was my husband’s birthday and our anniversary. Though he’s a (very, very proud) grandfather now, in the important ways, he’s still the intelligent, kind, generous, funny seventeen-year-old guy who picked me up in his Dad’s Oldsmobile to take me to my junior prom. His once fiery red hair is now softened with white, but he’s still seriously handsome with a killer smile. He is the smartest guy I know. If you’re looking for someone to be your lifeline on “Who Wants to be a Millionaire,” call him. He has an amazing capacity to know something about everything. He is a rock in a crisis; a marshmallow when it comes to Ms. Riley, our granddaughter.

Without sounding too much like an old fogey, although I readily admit that I am one, I’m old-fashioned about courtship. Though I’ve encouraged my unmarried son and daughter to try Internet dating, in fact, there is something about the pre-Match.com method of girl meets boy, face-to-face, and actually goes out on dates (not e-chats) that is appealing. It was love at first sight for me, and I didn’t over-analyze it. My gut instinct told me this guy was a keeper.

Are we raising a generation who are personally risk-averse, while professionally daring? When I was in my twenties, holding on to the same job for 25 years was considered a smart career move. Today if you’re in the same job for 5 years, you’re either President of the company or stagnant. It seems to me that our kids have no trouble changing jobs or partners. I understand that in this new corporate environment there is no incentive to be loyal to one company or brand, but how about in love?

Is the corporate “it’s just business” environment carrying over to personal relationships as well? Is the skyrocketing divorce rate evidence of that? I once thought that Internet dating sites were a good alternative to the bar scene. I understood that once you had graduated from college, it was harder to meet potential mates. Certainly, you didn’t want to date anyone with whom you worked – but where else would you meet someone if you were working long hours?

But now I’ve seen the jaded side of these web match-ups. Sure I can list several very happily married couples who met on one of those sites. But I can also point to countless under-30-somethings who spend a long time chatting on-line with various potential love interests without ever committing to meeting in person. At some point, it seems to me, you’ve got to bite the bullet. You’ve got to invest in face time. They would argue that the pre-date dating winnows out the losers in the group. I suspect that it makes those verbally precocious more attractive and downplays those who may not be quite so glib, but have real substance.

Not sure where I end up on this modern-love dilemma. How about you Stiletto Faithful? What do you think about Internet matchup sites?

And in the meantime, Happy Birthday and Happy Anniversary to Pop-Pop.

Marian, aka Grandma, the Northern half of Evelyn David

Brianna Sullivan Mysteries – e-book series
I Try Not to Drive Past Cemeteries- Kindle – Nook – Smashwords
The Dog Days of Summer in Lottawatah- Kindle – Nook – Smashwords
The Holiday Spirit(s) of Lottawatah- Kindle – Nook – Smashwords
Undying Love in Lottawatah- Kindle – Nook – Smashwords
A Haunting in Lottawatah – Kindle – Nook – Smashwords

The Sullivan Investigation Series
Murder Drops the Ball (Spring 2011)
Murder Takes the Cake- Paperback – Kindle
Murder Off the Books- Paperback – Kindle
Riley Come Home (short story)- Kindle – Nook – Smashwords

Romances

Love Lessons – Kindle – Nook – Smashwords

Moink and Ooo

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Being a Grandma is absolutely delightful and positively exhausting.

A couple of days ago, I babysat from 4 to 7:30. When I arrived, my son announced that Ms. Riley, age 9 months, hadn’t had an afternoon nap (and only a 30 minute one in the car in the morning). Even Riley, the perfect child, is not so perfect at that time.

I decide to take her for a walk in the stroller – she likes it and she usually falls asleep – except when she doesn’t because she likes to look around. It was a beautiful day and she enjoyed the neighborhood stroll. To be fair, she finally did sleep, for all of 20 minutes because she woke up within 15 seconds of my stopping and I wasn’t up for another 45 minute walk.

So we came inside and played…and played…and played. I fed her dinner which she thoroughly enjoyed, especially the part where she squished the banana slices in her fingers before struggling to make the transfer from sticky fingers to mouth. Often the dexterity eluded her, which meant banana in the hair (hers and mine) I gave her a bath, again lots of fun, even if Grandma was drenched by the end. But it was clear that she was fading fast.

I didn’t want to put her to sleep because if she went to bed before a final nursing with her Mom, she’d wake up in an hour, refreshed from her nap just about the time the adults in the house were ready to call it a night. So I just had to hang on for another 30 minutes and the cavalry, e.g. her mom, would be arriving.

At this point, her only comfort was me holding her (all 20 pounds of that cute bundle), swaying back and forth (while ignoring growing lower back pain), and most of all, singing her favorite song. Now this little ditty was written by my daughter-in-law, as an accompaniment to a rather oddly designed stuffed animal that Riley adores. It is affectionately called Pig Cow, which is in fact what it looks like. The song is as follows:

I’m a little pig cow, pig cow, pig cow
I’m a little pig cow, pig cow, pig
Pigs say oink
Cows say moo
I say Moink
And sometimes Ooo.

I was up to about my 2,000th rendition of the song, when it struck me that, with just a little minor variation, it’s exactly the same tune as the childhood classic, “I’m a Little Teapot, Short and Stout, Here is my handle, Here is my spout.”

I decide to change it up, and launched, with much bravado, into a full-out rendition of this new ditty.

The Queen was not amused.

She looked at me like I had belched, loudly, at Buckingham Palace.

Her face screwed up, her tears were big and plentiful.

I apologized profusely and immediately switched back to the Pig Cow tune (which I’m humming now even in my sleep).

Temporary peace was restored, although it was clear that trust had been breached.

What could I do to restore the sunny disposition of this wondrous child? I still had ten minutes to kill. It was time for the last resort.

Have you ever heard of Mum-Mums? I have raised four children and until a month ago, had never heard of this delicacy, each box of which costs about the same as a new car. They are rice rusks, organic of course, with a touch of sugar, and the equivalent of Godiva chocolate in the baby world.

Interrupting the Pig Cow song long enough to explain to Ms. Riley what I was about to do, I said, “Riley, honey, there may be sugar in these Mum-Mums, but don’t worry. Your Mommy and Daddy will buy you braces when you are a teenager. Grandma is going to get you a Mum-Mum right now.”

All tears, even hints of tears, stopped. Did I mention that the child’s only vocabulary right now consists of Mum-Mum and Hi? Clearly I was on the right track.

Peace reigned. We sat on the steps, child contentedly eating her treat, me continuing to murmur Moinks and Oooos.

Mom arrived. Grandma gave big kisses and headed for home, exhausted but triumphant.

Would all the problems in the world be so easily fixed with a little Moink, Oooo, and Mum-Mum.

Grandma, aka Marian the Northern half of Evelyn David

Brianna Sullivan Mysteries – e-book series
I Try Not to Drive Past Cemeteries- Kindle – Nook – Smashwords
The Dog Days of Summer in Lottawatah- Kindle – Nook – Smashwords
The Holiday Spirit(s) of Lottawatah- Kindle – Nook – Smashwords
Undying Love in Lottawatah- Kindle – Nook – Smashwords
A Haunting in Lottawatah – Kindle – Nook – Smashwords

The Sullivan Investigation Series
Murder Drops the Ball (Spring 2011)
Murder Takes the Cake- Paperback – Kindle
Murder Off the Books- Paperback – Kindle
Riley Come Home (short story)- Kindle – Nook – Smashwords

Romances
Love Lessons – Kindle – Nook – Smashwords

Grandma at Four Months

/in /by

By Evelyn David

She’s rolling over now. She burst into tears the first time – shocked at the turn of events that had her on her back reaching for a stuffed animal, and all of a sudden, she was on her belly facing the wrong way and no stuffie in sight. Plus, how to get back to where she started?

But now, Riley, age four months, is rolling like the proverbial river.

And I’m growing more confident as Grandma. From the first second I knew my daughter-in-law was pregnant, I was in love with this little baby. But when Riley was born, I’d forgotten how tiny, fragile, even scary these little people can be. Despite raising four children of my own, I found myself worried that I couldn’t meet her needs. A set of baby tears was enough to prompt me to shed a few myself.

But then came the smiles – and wow, I’m willing to do cartwheels to get a grin from this little one.

So here’s how I knew I had passed the Grandma test.

I was to babysit for one hour starting at 7 pm. As an experienced parent, I know that is nobody’s finest hour. Riley normally goes to bed at 8 pm, so she would be getting tired in any case, but her Mom told me upon arrival that the baby hadn’t slept a wink the entire day. I believe the correct response is: OY!

Now the rule of the house is that the television is off when Riley is in the room. She’s absolutely mesmerized by the colors of the huge TV hanging on the wall in the family room. I respect that. Heck I limited TV viewing when raising my own kids.

But as the hour progressed, Ms. Riley began to fret. I walked, swayed, sang – you get the drift. Nothing, and I mean nothing, would comfort her for more than 15 seconds. I changed her diaper; then offered her a bottle of breastmilk, which she promptly spit out, clearly the wrong vintage, or at least the wrong nipple. She refused all pacifiers. And of course, most of all, she refused the one thing that would have helped – she wouldn’t so much as close her eyes lest she actually fall asleep.

And then I whispered what I’m pretty sure my mother and mother-in-law both did when watching my kids (including Riley’s daddy). I said, “Riley, this is Grandma talking. How would you like to watch “Wheel of Fortune?”

I clicked on the TV and silence descended. She sat transfixed in my arms.

I had hoped to turn it off before her mother returned, but alas I was busted.

The little one gave a huge smile when her Momma reached for her. Upstairs, a brief nursing session, and Ms. Riley was asleep for the night.

Personally, I think Riley was relieved that the contestant figured out the final puzzle. I’m pretty sure that she had. It said:

GRANDMA ROCKS

Please share your favorite Grandma stories (whether as a grandparent or grandchild).

Grandma Marian, the Northern half of Evelyn David

I Try Not to Drive Past Cemeteries — short stories available for Kindle and Nook
Murder Off the Books
Murder Takes the Cake
Murder Drops the Ball — Spring 2011

A Miracle is Born

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Blessed are You Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has kept us alive, and has preserved us, and allowed us to reach this season.

I murmured the prayer over and over again late Friday afternoon, June 4. It was, for me, nothing short of a miracle. Riley Giselle, was born and poof, I was a Grandma. In some ways, the joy was greater than when I first became a mother. Then all the love and excitement was tinged with fear: Was I up to the job of taking care of a small wonderful child? Now, my only job was to love, love, love her. Somebody else would figure out how to pay for college!

Like most teenage girls, I had “issues” with my mother. I knew, heavens I was certain, that I would do things differently. As my own children reached adolescence, however, I found myself setting the same standards that my own mother had demanded. As Mark Twain so aptly put it, “When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.” It took me a little longer, but ah yes, I discovered just how smart my mother really was.

But from the moment that my first child was born, I was in awe of both my mother and my in-laws as grandparents. My own dad sadly never got to meet my kids. But Grandma, Nana, and Pop-Pop had such bottomless love for each of their grandchildren. Their patience was limitless, but of course, even seven days into this grandparenting gig, I now realize that patience is easier when you can hand the little bundle back at the end of the day.

Alex Haley once said, “Nobody can do for little children what grandparents do. Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of little children.” I like even better, and that may be the foodie in me, the quote I found, source unknown, who said, “Grandmas are moms with lots of frosting.”

But most of all, I am giddy, thrilled, and feeling so incredibly blessed that Riley Giselle is now in my life.

Just call me Grandma, the Northern half of Evelyn David