Who doesn’t like to get gifts?  Without a doubt, the best gifts I’ve ever received were the people in my life.  From family to friends, each are important.  Each play a role in making me who I am.  These people have all been a part of the many hats I find myself wearing.  I by no means, believe that I am the only person who feels this way, or wear many hats throughout the course of the day.  We all wear too many hats, I think. 

My favorite is my Teetah hat.  When I learned that I was going to be a grandparent, I knew one thing.  I was not using the title GRANDMA!  First of all, this child was being born into a family with about 7 “grandmas”.  I googled alternative grandma names and came up with Teetah.  It’s grandma in an African dialect.  Since my name is Theda… I thought it was a good option. 

My oldest granddaughter was born late evening on February 23^rd.  She will soon be 6.  I remember walking through the hall at the hospital knowing she was born because there was a lullaby playing in the corridor.  We went into the waiting room, waiting to be taken back to meet this precious little gal. 

What I wasn’t prepared for is the look of a proud daddy from my son.  When you raise kids, I think there are moments in time that you freeze.  This was one of those moments.  Greg looked content. He looked prepared to be a dad.  He was prideful.  This was not common for Greg.  Greg is somewhat quiet.  He’s content with who he is. 

When I looked at him, he was wearing a white tee shirt and jeans.  He was sitting on a stool by his wife.  He was looking across the room at his baby.  He had a huge smile on his face.  Life was perfect in that moment for Greg.   

My mom, as I have said in previous posts was a huge part of my kid’s life’s.  With Greg, my mom was the person who always had a calming effect on him.  She was really important to him.  Important to the point that despite being February in western PA, Greg had to stop at my house to introduce his baby to her.  He and Ange walked into the house, car seat in hand.  He picked the baby out of the car seat, wrapped her in a blanket and “presented” his firstborn to his grandmother.  This was after my mom had a stroke, so words were difficult.  No words were needed though.   Both Greg and my mom knew the importance of the moment.

Since then, he has had a son.  Unfortunately, he was born shortly after my mom died.  There was no presentation. My daughter has two little girls.  My mom met one, not the other.  I consider myself very fortunate to have 4 grand babies. There will be more to follow.

Since Lily, the oldest, was born.  I assigned my role as second string.  I tell Lily this all of the time because she is old enough to understand.  When the babies are newborn, I try, and normally accomplish, unsolicited advice.  As the kids are getting older, I abide by the rules.  Mostly.  Some rules, like not eating treats are made to be bent by grandparents.  Tim (Timpa), my husband, always says that his role is to keep the kids safe.  My role is to support their parents. 

All in all, it’s a good strategy.  The kids love to come to play and stay with us.  As I mentioned before, we cherish the time we have with them and don’t allow “life” to get in the way.  If I cook, the kids are cooking.   If I clean, the kids are also cleaning.  Mostly, I make sure we sit and talk, do crafts, play and most of all create memories.