My Tuesdays with Lewis: reflections from a new grandparent
Pat Simmons, 69, is a writer of poems, short stories, flash fiction and articles. Her work has been published in anthologies and children’s magazines and she has won writer competitions in Australia and the UK.
I’m not one of those people who always dreamed of having grandchildren. I used to think that it might be quite nice, but then I’d see these weary, harassed looking people in shopping centres and on the buses saying things like:
“I’ve got them three days a week now.”
“Me too and there’s another one on the way.”
“Lovely having grandchildren though, isn’t it?”
‘Oh yes,” they’d sigh, as they struggled with shopping bags, strollers and wriggling toddlers.
It made me wonder whether grandparenthood was all it’s cracked up to be.
Then, in August 2014, Lewis was born. No longer working full-time and having moved to the beautiful south coast of NSW where my daughter and son-in-law were living, I was able to visit them regularly and babysit for a few hours here and there. And, of course, Lewis was, and is, adorable and far superior to anyone else’s grandchild. (In my eyes anyway!)
Now he’s eighteen months old and both his parents, like most parents of young children these days, need to work. Lewis attends Family Day Care on Mondays and Thursdays and he spends Tuesdays with me.
What would we do all day? Would he be bored? Would I be bored?
It’s a strange thing how your confidence begins to diminish when you retire from full time work. I had to give myself a good “talking to”. Come on, I said to the nervous me. You’ve worked in Children’s Services for twenty years. You have adegree, you’ve studied child development.You have a grown-up son and daughter for goodness sake.
The first Tuesday with Lewis went well. I enjoyed our day and I’m pretty sure he did too.
“What did you do?” asked my daughter.
“Well, we played and… and… stuff.”
“How long did he sleep for?”
“Two hours,” I said proudly. (I knew the answer to that one.)
“Did he eat all his lunch?”
“Yes,” I said, failing to mention that my two dogs sat under the highchair waiting patiently for food to be dropped. And it was. The dogs enjoyed their chicken and mashed potato.
Reflecting on my first Tuesday with Lewis that same evening, I made some notes about our day together:
- We played with the water table, filling it, emptying it, floating toys in it.
- We blew bubbles. (Those $1.00 bubble wands are great).
- Lewis found a torch and played with it for ages, shining its beam on the walls and ceiling.
- Lewis spent lots of time fiddling with the television remotes and my phone.
- I taught him a little song.
- He chased the cats, tolerated the dogs and helped feed the guinea pigs.
- He ate and slept.
- And we both laughed a lot.
Every Tuesday evening now I write down what we did during the day and reflect on what a joy the day has been and how incredibly lucky I am to have this little boy in my life.
Is grandparenthood all it’s cracked up to be? At this moment in time, most definitely.
If you have a story to share please get in touch at melody@oversixty.com.au.
Related links:
Having a sibling makes boys selfless
Sibling rivalries in my childhood shaped who I am today
In pictures: Kids behaving badly