I am in the most important career of my life now - that of grandparent. I take my responsibilities very seriously. So does Grandpa Capt. SO. No one prepares you for grandparenting and there are no books, brochures, manuals, graduate courses, workshops or webinars available on "How To Be A World-Class Grandparent". Literally, one minute you are not a grandparent and the next minute you are and, Voila!, the instinct kicks in, as if you had been in training your entire life for this very important job.
Now, actual parenting - that job that helped raise the very individuals who enabled one to become a grandparent - that is another matter. The training to become a parent should take about as many years as it takes to become a neurosurgeon, but life doesn't work that way. Again, literally, one minute you are not a parent and the next minute you are....except the instinct doesn't necessarily kick in right away. New parents are generally exhausted from the birthing experience, reeling from feelings of inadequacy and trepidation but about twenty-four hours after the birth of the child, the family unit is sent home to fend for itself and figure out, by trail and much error, just how to be a parent. Many new parents already have a child or children at home, so some experimentation regarding parenting has already taken place, hopefully to the advantage of both parents and kids. Somehow these children, who grew up healthy and strong, in spite of the shortcomings of the parents, manage to become the adults who give their parents grandchildren.
This miraculous life-cycle, ending with grandparenting, does bring with it certain, inalienable grandparenting responsibilities. For instance, grandparenting means teaching the grandkids how to pound a nail.....hopefully in something that a nail hole won't destroy; teaching the youngsters how to fish; letting the little chaps help by handing tools to Gramps; baking cookies so the grandchildren have something to help the milk go down a little easier; providing comfy laps in which to sit while listening to a book; attending concerts, recitals, and sporting events. Perhaps the most important role of the grandparent is to pray for the grandchildren and to be earth angels for them, when they are little and when they are not-so-little.
I get to see the Three Musketeers tomorrow. Life is good. :-)
Ancora imparo
