I have waited years for this to happen to me. Most of my friends are grandparents already and I’ve anxiously awaited the exciting news to happen to me. We all know that this is the crowning achievement of being a parent ourselves. No matter what else our own children do, how accomplished they are, how smart they are or how funny they are, it all comes down to this. THIS, my friends, means that you finally get to stop being just a parent. You can now be a certified GRANDPARENT. This is when you can stop worrying and stop being the responsible one. You can stop advising your own kids and gently (?) reminding them of what they’re supposed to be doing and simply ENJOY.

Yep, with a grandchild, you don’t have to worry about any of that. It’s parental bliss. Somebody else can do all the heavy lifting while you sit back and enjoy the good stuff. You get to spoil them, kiss them and hug them, fill their tummies with cookies and other good things to bribe them into loving you and then send them home for their temper tantrums, sleepless nights, and the number of other fun things we had to put up with as a parent. The time is near!

Wait… is that a worry?

Now that I know I’m going to be a grandmother, it means that my own child is going to have a baby. You know this is going to change their lives completely… will they be okay? It’s a huge responsibility, it’s expensive, will they have enough patience, how will they work it out with their jobs, will the dog be good with the baby? There are so many questions and so many worries. I thought this was supposed to be the easy part. Daily, I seem to be coming up with a whole new set of things to worry about. Granted, if worrying was an Olympic sport, I would compete and win the gold medal each and every time, but I’m sure that this is normal. The difference in being a parent and being a grandparent is that, this time around, I know what’s in store for them and I can’t do anything about it. I know darn well that they’re going to be great parents, but it is not going to stop me from worrying all the same. That poor little child is going to fall down and get hurt, he’s going to get sick, and he’s going to be unhappy sometimes; that’s a fact. Now, though, not only am I going to have to worry about my grandchild during those times, but I’m also going to worry about his mom and dad having to go through it, knowing how much it hurts them, as it did me, and not be able to do anything about it. How come nobody told me about this part of being a parent or grandparent?

I think that instead of landing on parent easy street, I just realized that I am about to embark on a whole new journey as a parent. I’m certain that I’m going to have my very own special relationship with my grandchildren, but am now realizing that I am about to have a whole new relationship with my own children as well. Being a parent really is a lifelong endeavor and becoming a grandparent is just another part of the same journey, with an awesome bonus.

I’m going to try my hardest to not worry about anything. I am going to spend lots of time with my new little grandson, cuddling, spoiling, and just loving him. When I send him home, I will give my own son and daughter-in-law an extra hug for all that they have to worry about now.