I am the so-called young grandmother. I gave birth to my first grandchild when I was 50, and my grandchild was born when I was 54. If my daughter had continued the family tradition, I would now be a grandmother at 42, which is a more suitable age for having children. But luckily everything went well. It was this eight-year gap that finally gave me the opportunity to grow.
I also became a mother at the age of 21. The combination of youth, poverty and the “crazy nineties” was not at all conducive to conscious motherhood, as it is now called. Priority was given to more mundane things, especially livelihoods. There were no mobile phones then, and rare photographs testify to the most important moments of her daughter’s early childhood. Judging by them and fragmentary memories, I can say that perhaps I was not the most exemplary mother: until the age of 35, my personal life, work, business trips, friends and, as it seemed at that time, very important things came first. .
But I was lucky. Now we have an excellent relationship with my daughter, we are the closest people who understand each other perfectly, but there are some moments from her childhood that I missed, which I did not notice in the cycle of events of my own youth.
And then fate gave me a second chance, which I really want to share with everyone who is forty-five years old and above, who looks sadly into the future from a height and thinks that nothing interesting will happen from now on.
When your children and grandchildren appear, it is as if you were reborn. By the age of fifty, only the most persistent do not think about the inevitable, and, let’s be honest, there are not very joyful prospects. Youth passed, vision weakened, the body wore out, dreams gave way to simple desires. And then bam – and the Lord God gives you a gift.
The appearance of grandchildren radically changes the whole picture of the world – life suddenly acquires an additional meaning, and what kind of meaning is in this.
At this age, nothing can prevent you from fully realizing the miracle of the birth of a new person and enjoying it one hundred percent. After fifty dollars, you are no longer very interested in your so-called personal life, everything is already clear with work and career, the few remaining friends are busy with themselves, and you can finally forget about all this nonsense about self-examination or self-examination. how others perceive you and how you focus on what matters most.
Of course, we all love our own children, but grandchildren are a completely different matter. Take away motherhood, remove all responsibility and routine (feeding, putting to bed, washing, cooking, putting away toys, buying food, going to the doctor) and leave only pleasures such as playing games, reading, walking, watching cartoons, eating ice Eat cream and chocolate, walk to theaters or museums, assemble puzzles, ride on swings and carriages, laugh, hug, fool around, learn poems and songs – and you will take on the responsibility of grandmothers.
I would say that old children’s books are still the best. For thirty years Dunno, Winnie the Pooh and Carlson have not changed at all, but God, how nice it was to meet them again, waiting to shake off the dust from Moidodyr and Aibolit and make sure that they had not gone anywhere. I’ll get them when I come back all these years. No, don’t think like that, sometimes you need to change your diaper and brush your teeth, but it’s not every day and in general it’s very nice.
Grandchildren literally bring us back to childhood. They come into our lives at a time when we can no longer run anywhere or have to prove anything to anyone.
Just enjoy the moment, watch this darling baby explore the world, feel young again. Not only do you clearly see a perspective that has blurred over the years, but you also physically feel how the generations are connected, how they line up in time, thanks to your great-grandmother’s upturned nose or the shape of your great-grandfather’s eyes. , which has been dead for a long time. You look at an old black and white photo, you see the same smile and you understand that nothing ends in this life. On the contrary, it repeats itself better, stronger and more joyful than before.
The author expresses his personal opinion, which may not coincide with the position of the editors.
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Source: Gazeta
Dolores Johnson is a voice of reason at “Social Bites”. As an opinion writer, she provides her readers with insightful commentary on the most pressing issues of the day. With her well-informed perspectives and clear writing style, Dolores helps readers navigate the complex world of news and politics, providing a balanced and thoughtful view on the most important topics of the moment.