A Grandmommy's Love

One of the things I loved about my mom was how much she loved my girls. She really adored them. My mother was so in tune with their little personalities and she would play with them whenever they asked her to play. She was always patient and loving with them and I never heard her reprimand them...that wasn't a job for a grandma in her mind.

Mom really connected with Lily and they would become allies against me...plotting and scheming and doing their own thing together while enjoying their own little secrets.

And, my mother just cherished all of the time she spent with little Shelly. I always felt as though she could see a bit of me in Shelly and it somehow made their connection unique. Many times my parents would watch the girls when John and I took trips. The girls had so much fun with my parents while we were away. My mother would document their adventures with photos and then create little photo albums for the girls. One of those albums is torn in places because Lily would look through it religiously.

My girls were lucky enough to receive American Girl dolls from my parents and it was a common passion that they shared with my mother. When she would come to visit, they would snuggle up with her on the couch and indulge themselves in the American Girl catalog while discussing all things American Girl. I was a bit melancholy when the girls and I visited the store in Atlanta this summer. I just know my mom would have loved to have been there with us. I sure would have loved to have had her there.

So many times I called my mom for advice on issues I was having as a mom. She always knew just how to offer her advice without offending me or overstepping her bounds. And, she also seemed to have the perfect solution to my daily problems of mothering. I really miss that advice. Because as any mom knows, I continue to need her problem solving skills every day.

Although I can't help but be sad that my mom won't see my girls head off to middle school, graduate from high school, enter college, start on a career path, get married, or have children, I am immensely happy that she knew my girls. But, even more than that she loved them and they loved her.