Happy Nonni
Did you ever see the movie “City Slickers”? You know the part where one of the guys is telling the other guy that his divorce isn’t the end of the world? He tells his friend, “It’s like you’re getting a do over.”
That’s how I feel right now.
I feel like I am getting a “do over”.
Next November, I will become the daily caregiver for my very first grandchild, a little girl who will be born sometime in August.
I am incredibly excited about having the chance to take care of her, and to be able to help my daughter and son-in-law with the struggles of working parents.
I am so lucky!
And I’m scared to pieces.
What if I don’t remember how to rock a baby with an earache? My own baby is 23, for God’s sake! What if I can’t calm her down? What if I forget how to soothe a baby through the teething stages? What if she doesn’t like me? What if I don’t have the stamina for this?
Oh, brother. Thus runs the mind of a true neurotic.
At 3AM I convince myself that I am a hopeless excuse for a Nonni.
At 7AM, all I can think of is this: “I am getting a do over!”
I picture a day in early winter. The cold rain is pouring down outside, but the house is cozy. There is a big pot of stew on the stove, enough for Paul and I and enough to send home to Kate and Sam. I have bread dough rising, and I am sitting in the rocker with the baby asleep in my arms. A warm fleece blanket is draped over us both. I am humming a song, soft and low, and my cheek is resting on hers.
It is a do over. A chance to revisit my very best days. A chance to hold and cuddle and nurture one more life.
When my own babies were little, I had to drop them off at daycare. I had to rush out the door, into the wintery winds. I had to leave the rocking and the singing to others.
Now I have a chance to do it over again. Now I can relax, and stay at home, and give myself to the little one. All the love and caring that has gone into my 25 students can now be poured into her.
I am getting a do over.
I am so very, very lucky.
I can’t wait.
Empty Nest, Full Life 
YEAH! Totally agree and want to run up to Mass and give you the biggest HUG!
😘
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Come up next winter, when I am rocking that baby!!!!
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How very lucky this wee girl is to have such love in her life. Enjoy every single moment of your time together!
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I think I will, Lynn! That’s the best part; I really think I will enjoy every minute of our time together!
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You will have so much to write about!!!!!
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Starting a new blog soon. “The Nonni Chronicles!”
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Yes, you are lucky, especially since you didn’t get a full dose when your first generation children were wee ones. Since you are still able to scare yourself with the typical hurdles of nurturing a newly minted human being, I seriously doubt you will have much trouble. A few of the products have changed a bit. Although they still make my favorite diaper rash ointment, “Butt Paste” has a bit of a ring to it. You will do fine because you have the most important ingredient down pat: love.
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Thank you……still, I live in fear of the “diaper genii”. I mean……do I make a wish on every poop?
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As a mother who dumped “poop” in the toilet and,…I won’t describe the whole hands-on process. I do remember carrying very ripe diaper pails to the basement for washing. So now we are sending all the human waste in hermetically sealed packages to the landfills? Have they made them biodegradable yet?
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I am so very happy for you. You will be the best grandma ever!
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Yikes, I hope so! Or at least a reasonably competent Grandma! Its scarier than I thought! But I can’t wait!!!!!
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Enjoy it!
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This…THIS is why the extended family is so important! Just when you begin to think that maybe your “usefulness” was at an end, you discover a need that will test you to your limits. Everything you’ve spent your life learning will now be utilized. Isn’t it interesting that you decided to “retire” just in time to help your daughter with the 48-hour-per-day job that is motherhood?
😕
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There are no coincidences, dear Daddy Bear!
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You are so lucky and blessed — and so are Kate and the baby. She can go off to deal with the “rubrics” with peace of mind, and you will have the best time. A win-win-win! I’m thrilled for all of you.
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Thank you! And when/if you move back to our neck of the woods, you can come by and see us!
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Looking forward to that and to our lobster dinner!
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Congratulations! You’ll do great! 🙂
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From your lips, my friend……!
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Believe me – and I speak from personal experience – you will love it and excel at it. Grandparenting is so much more fun than parenting and that little girl will be so lucky to have you for her Nonni!
Looking forward to those blog posts you’ll write!
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And will come visit us, and help me figure it all out? My hot tub awaits you!
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