Things Ian Told Me....

My grandson Ian

has always been an old soul. Full of love and wise beyond his years. During our time together, he has been quite a source of inspiration.

I love to remind him of things he has done or said that I will always cherish and remember. Ian, if you read this, know that I love these memories of you. My honest to a fault grandson with a heart of gold.

When he was about 2-3 or so, these things happened:

I have dyed my hair since I was in my mid-thirties. Being little, Ian was unaware of this. One time, he was standing next to me (as I was sitting and bending my head in his direction) and had a good look at the top of my head (my roots were coming in white...time for a dye job!) and announced, "Gaga, some of my hair fell onto your head!" (He had almost white/blonde hair). He wasn't being sassy...he really thought this, lol. 

Another time after Christmas shopping during the Christmas season he whispered to me, "Gaga, we got you a present with letters in it. But don't tell anyone....it's a secret".....lol (on Christmas day, I found out it was a Deluxe Scrabble game....we still play it!). 

My daughter got a cool idea for a "surprise Anniversary/birthday" present for me....a professional portrait of all my kids, their spouses and grandkids. They carefully made plans so that I would be surprised. But Ian spilled the beans a few days later (after picture day) when he announced to me that they had all done something on "picture day"[although, as my 4 children will tell you, I am very hard to keep secrets from.....it is my snoopy nature, lol.....Michael and Holland went to the movies on a weekday (first weird thing) then I called Rianna's house that day....he answered and I figured something was up....they tried to cover it up by saying that the movie had sold out and instead of coming home, they visited Rianna instead 😉]

Empty Nest Syndrome....Again!

It has been so long since I have written on here!

 I hope to use this blog as a journal to help me remember "things my grandchildren have done" as well as life in general. Since I last wrote, I had a whole extra grandchild!

His name is Teddy and oh, what a joy he has been!! He is now five years old and such a unique individual. I hope to recollect some of the things that have been seared into my memory as I play catch-up on here.

But, for this entry, I will be writing about things that have been going on with me for the past couple of months. Last school year, Teddy was in 4K. Since he only went there for a half day, I still got to spend time with him. We spent those half days doing many arts and crafts, playing games, reading, watching favorite shows and movies and taking walks to our favorite bakery.

Then I spent the summer with all 3 of my grandsons....and what adventures we had. Living next to Lake Michigan means that we got to have beach days....the lake is my favorite place to be

We went to Manitowoc Aquatic Center and had picnics at city parks.

Then came fall. In order to understand the situation, you should know that I have always been a stay at home mother...by choice. When my kids were little, I found all kinds of reasons to "justify" my staying home. Bob and I would have to work different shifts in order for both of us to work. There was nobody I trusted enough to watch my kids for any amount of time on an ongoing basis. Day Care was unsafe! I would miss all of their school events if I worked first shift (Bob worked second shift). Working third shift at a local nursing home was one of the hardest things to do. One of my children had ADHD, and I really felt that I needed to concentrate on helping him. All of the above reasons cemented my decision to become a stay at home mom until all of my kids were out of high school.

 So, after all of my kids were in college, I decided to go back to college myself and earn a degree! I was accepted into UW Platteville in their Distance Education program. Halfway through, I became a grandmother and I decided to continue my pursuit of a degree while becoming a daycare provider for my grandchildren.....again by choice. There was no way that I would have any of my grandchildren being taken care of by a stranger....not with all of the horror stories that are out there. So, from the time that my daughter Rianna went to work until the day that Teddy graduated from 4K, I (and Papa) happily babysat for all of my grandchildren. Luckily, I did have help with the girls, as their Grammee Laurie retired early and cared for the girls for half the week.

 Now, fall of 2018. No more babies at Grandma's house...at least not on a regular basis. At my age, I suddenly find myself at a loss. as I prepare myself to go into the working world, I have found myself, at times, to be profoundly sad....almost to a point of depression. I have been trying to figure out what is wrong with me. I now realize that I am most likely going through something that I have never really had to go through before....empty nest syndrome. I am honing my skills from my degree and looking up possible career searches. Which may seem kind of funny to some of my friends and family, since two of my high school friends are already retired (government workers). But, I plan on working until at least 67....if not later.

 Unless I win the lottery......lol.