Grandparent’s Day is not a holiday that I know very much about. Did you know it is the 30thNational Grandparent’s Day? On September 13th. What will you do to honor your parents and inlaws or the special people in your children’s lives who are surrograte grandparents?
We are fortunate to have all 4 grandparents living close by. In fact, we all live in two adjoining counties. I think this is funny since my family is from England. My husband is a born and bred Marylander — I guess I should call him a Terp.
In fact we are so close that it reminds me of this scene from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (Widescreen Special Edition)
For some families visits from grandparents are few and far between due to distance or age. Other families like us live close by to the grandparents. Some grandparents are raising their grandchildren.
Over the years we have relied on our local grandparents for babysitting duties. My parents spent many Saturday nights babysitting my oldest. She is the oldest grandchild on both sides of our families. In the early days of motherhood when I was completely overwhelmed by the dual demands of a newborn and a work-at-home job, my mother would bail me out on Fridays. I often dropped my baby off at her house, so that I could go to my office to make copies, meet with people, or just catch up on work.
My inlaws were invaluable in helping us get a night out for dinner and a movie. With one child, we were able to go out almost every Friday. By the time we got to three children, we were down to once every 2 to 3 months.
My parents found it difficult to manage my active toddler and his sisters at their house on the nights we went out for dinner or a movie. It was easier for all of us for my parents to come to my house on the nights we needed babysitting. The change in venue meant that we needed to be back early so that my parents could go back to their house. The tradeoff was that our youngest child slept very well at our house. My parents would put the baby to bed, which meant that the girls could stay up and watch a movie. By the time my son turned 5 the gig was up — he wanted to get to stay up and watch a movie. The girls had to adapt to this — they liked having Grandma and Grandad to themselves.
On September 13th, do something nice for the grandparents in your life. Celebrate National Grandparent’s Day. Go to grandparents.com to find out more about this day and about everything to do with grandparents and their grandchildren!
