Grandma on Call

This is, your SECOND chance at being a caretaker of a young child, and because you’d missed out on your own son’s childhood years, naturally, you’re NOT going to let this chance slip on by, are you???  Naturally not!  Translated…

Since the birth of my granddaughter, there were, about four months that I’d, stayed in, at home, waited, minute by minute, to take care of the “calling” of my young granddaughter, every time she’d called, I’d be there, trying to make her laugh, I believe I was, a more-than-fitting “grandmother on call”, I’m so busy, but very happy at the same time!

Actually, as I’d watched my elderly neighbors pushing out that baby stroller with great energies, or as she’d, carried out a heavy infant, looking like an old hag, I’d, reminded myself, “I will NEVER be like them, raising my own young up hard, and still needed to take care of their young too, when will I get to take a break for myself!”, and all my friends warned each other, “Don’t be stupid, and shoulder the responsibilities for raising your children’s young, it’s their responsibilities, let them take it, just enjoy our elderly days!”

And yet, it’d, not worked as well as I’d planned, as I stepped off the teaching post in school, my son who’d returned home from Beijing gleefully announced, “This time, there are the three of us who’d returned!”, meant that my daughter-in-law was, pregnant.  My son is busy at work, my daughter-in-law was pregnant, and couldn’t move about easily, as a mother-in-law, I naturally took over more of the household chores, besides, my schedule wasn’t turned upside down, I’d still read, written, and gone out to exercise as I usually do.

like this???  Illustration from UDN.com…

Back then, I was still, full of confidence, believing, that after my daughter-in-law gave birth, things wouldn’t change that much, but, I was, DEAD wrong!  That cute baby who’s been placed right before me, has the most healing sort of a smile, she’d quickly came under the spotlight of everybody’s attention we’d all fought to hold her, to take care of her, and I’d, already forgotten the promise I’d made to myself, willing to become, a “grandma on call”, without pay.  I’d, hung “leisure” up on the walls, rolled up my sleeves to, bathe, to change my granddaughter’s diapers, to feed the formula in bottles to her, I’d, run around by the days, busying myself.

As this baby girl woke in the morn, had a great night of sleep, been fed, and started laughing, grinning ear to ear as she saw everyone; I’d carried her out for strolls, her eyes became busy, looked around her environment with that curiosity, as she’d heard the neighboring grandma cooed at her, she’d smiled brightly, she’d, brought a brand new sort of energy to our, aging community.  In the evenings, I’d taken her out on a stroller to the fields to exercise, she’d sucked on her pacifier, looked like she was, enjoying the early evening, and as I lay her down, she’d not become fussy at all, I’d found, that she wasn’t a burden, but a bundle of joy.

Early one morning at two, my daughter-in-law woke me in a panic, for some unknown reasons, my granddaughter started running a fever, I’d gone with my daughter-in-law, took my granddaughter to the E.R., because she was not yet three months, the doctor wanted to hospitalize her for observations, the nurses put her on drip immediately, and started searching for the thin veins on her chubby hands and legs too, the baby started crying like crazy, while our hearts were also, bleeding too, thankfully, the nurse was skillful enough, by the second needle jab, she’d, found a vein, she was hospitalized for a whole week, and my daughter-in-law and I took shifts staying with her there, during that time, the children who were hospitalized all had colds, and, we were also, infected too, but we’d felt the joys, of looking after her.

From before, because of work, I’d given the task of raising my own young to my own mother-in-law, and only took care of my children on the weekends when I’m off, actually, I had NO clue how my son grew up, and now, as I took care of my young granddaughter, I got to, relive my role as a caretaker, and, learned of how babies grow up, it’d, enriched my life; watching my granddaughter grow bigger by the day, I’d felt, that sense of achievement, so, what are these, miniscule trying moments?  And so, I’d loved being the second-in-command to my daughter-in-law, my granddaughter’s “Grandma on-call”, filling up that opening in her caretaking, so she’ll, grow well, like the bamboo in the springtime, happy, and healthy by the day.

And so, this, is the joy of grandparenting, isn’t it?  You have this brand new addition to the family, and, she’d become, your whole world now, and, despite how there may be moments that you’d felt tried in taking care of her, you’d still, taken it all in stride, because you are her grandmother, and you loved your baby granddaughter so…