Gallivanting Grammy

I’m making a public apology to my kids right here.  You drew the short straw.  At least, when it comes to being the regular babysitter for the grandkids.

My mom wasn’t exactly keen on the babysitting thing either.  But, then, I was not exactly keen on her babysitting them.  Walking through the door and seeing her laying hands on them trying to exorcise the demons didn’t make me feel all warm and fuzzy.

We lived hundreds of miles apart....for good reason.

The fact is I love my two grandkids and I know I’ll adore the one coming in August.  As every grandparent can attest, they are the smartest, cutest, funniest, most precious little people in the world.  Not everybody is fortunate to be a grandparent.  I consider myself blessed.

I was thinking the other day about how many years of my adult life I have been married.  Out of 45 years, I’ve been married twice for a total of 17 years.  I’ve raised three children primarily on my own for over 44 of those years.  The question there is when does parenting officially end???  NEVER!  

I probably should consider that parenting never ceases; but ending financial support should bring independence that transforms the adult-child relationship into an adult-adult relationship.  What a rich experience.  I missed having that with my own parents even though I never depended on them for a dime but that’s a whole other ball of wax.

My adult life revolved around raising children and working...just like most people.  Except that I did a lot of it solo and my traveling was primarily to visit family and friends.  My choice.  I don’t regret any of it.

Now, I want the freedom to travel to bridge tournaments all over the country or to travel to Ireland or Italy or lay out on a Caribbean beach.  I want to be able to love my winter life in Florida sans guilt.  I want to write with abandon about what life is really like at my age.

A few weeks ago, my daughter and grandson flew to Florida to spend a few days with us.  How he’d changed in just three months!  A five year old you can converse with, especially, if it’s related to superheroes or sports.  A whirlwind of activity that included Siesta Key on a windy, cool day...no problem for him, though...running in an out of the water chasing seagulls, hunting for shells and building castles.

A day at Disney World was preceded by him throwing up in the backseat...should we go or turn around and go home?  Nope, gotta go, he insisted.  Maybe he was just excited.  My Disney exec cousin got us fast lane tickets....I will forever be indebted!!!  At the end of the day, he met his great aunts, uncles, second and third cousins...for the first time.  On the way home, we asked him what his favorite thing was about the day.  “Everything,” was his immediate response.

The next day, we went to see the Orioles play Toronto at a spring training game in Sarasota.  One of the best games I ever saw....O’s down by three runs in the bottom of the ninth, two outs, three men on and Ryan Flaherty hits the home run that wins the game.  A storybook ending?  Ya think?  It got even better when one of the O’s gave him a game ball as we were leaving.  

On his last night, we set him up to watch college basketball....University of Massachusetts against Butler.  He has to have a team to root for so his mom told him we wanted UMass to win because that’s where Grandpa Jim lives.  “Good,” he says, “ I couldn’t cheer for a team that has ‘butt’ in it.”  Five year old humor, except that he was dead serious.

Yeah...I admit it, I’m a Gallivanting Grammy who loves to travel to tournaments and concerts, especially, if there’s an Allman headliner.  I’ll never forget those wine tastings in Sonoma or the Heritage Fest in New Orleans.  I want to keep doing it as long as I can.

Hmmm...you need me to babysit this weekend?  Of course, I’ll be there!!