Anyone who knows me, knows that I am Nana to a couple of the cutest little boys ever, Brody, who is 6 and Paxton, who is 2 in June.  To be truthful, I could probably rave about this particular topic for days, and I am quite sure, if you follow along, you will come to know these two, and my relationship with them quite well!  I have always listed my two sons as my biggest accomplishments in my life, and that goes tenfold for my grandbabies.

OK, now for those of you sitting there thinking that you saw my picture for the first time here, and it must be terribly old if I have grandkids, you aren’t alone in that perception.  I assure you that shot, taken by my very talented daughter-in-law, Anne, is only a little over a year old.  I had my oldest son, Daniel, when I was very young, and I think that that has kept me young.  I have no generation gap with my kids.  We like the same music, watch the same television programs and movies, I dress like I could be of their generation, and not in that creepy OMG, what the hell is she wearing way.  I have personalizeed plates on my Yaris that say KWLNANA, because I AM, the coolest Nana you will ever come across.

A little background may be in order here.  I didn’t become Nana the traditional way, but then most of my life has been rather untraditional, and I am quite proud to say, I am different.  Some of you are sitting there thinking, no shit Sherlock, because you know and love me for this very fact, or inspite of it maybe!  I like to think I am unique….special if you will, and not in the little yellow bus kind of way.  I became a grandparent because my son started dating a young lady who had an 18 month old son at the time.  I didn’t get to experience the excitement of the news, or follow the pregnancy, or watch him grow from a tiny baby, but that hasn’t changed how my love for him grows, daily.  As we share custody with his Dad, I don’t get to spend as much time with him as I would like, but the times we do spend together are some of my fondest memories. Magic.  Pure and simple.  I hope to launch into plenty more raves about this young man, but today I want to share some thoughts about my other little precious bundle.

I found out Anne was in labour with Paxton when I was sitting watching the second Chronicles of Narnia  movie, in a theatre in St.Albert,  Alberta.  That in and of  itself would not be so shocking except to add, they live in Cold Lake, a good three hours from where I was.  My biggest fear, towards the end of her pregnancy was that I would miss his grand entry into this world, due to the distance.  Let me tell you, something was protecting us during the drive, because we FLEW!  Daniel kept calling us with updates as to what was happening and how things were progressing, and I truly thought there was no way we would get there on time.  When we raced in to the hospital, Daniel was dressed in scrubs and about ready to go into the OR.  There are pictures of me totally LOSING it with relief.  You would think, looking at them,  that something was terribly wrong, but truth be told, I cry when I am happy, sad, mad, at sappy commercials on TV,  if I miss snack time!

I could, at this point spend the next couple of hours trying to explain the feelings, and emotions that overcame me the first time MY son put HIS son in my arms.  Surreal.  The Circle of Life.  I love my kids, don’t get me wrong, or doubt it for a second, but a grandchild is something entirely different.  The love is entirely different, and I think people alot more eloquent than I am have probably tired to explain it, and fallen short.  I am sitting here now, on the sofa, watching him do something as simple as eating toast and butter, and it could overwhelm me completely if I let it, which of course, sometimes I do.  One of those moments happened last night,  and inspired this rave.  I will attempt to explain it in such a way that I don’t confuse anyone!

Anne is currently in the hospital, after having her gall bladder removed yesterday, and I am here to help while she goes through this.  I love having the time to strengthen my bonds with this amazing little person who shares my genes.  He is terribly bright, incredibly cute, and completely hilarious to watch at times.  I am not the least bit biased, by the way.  Well yesterday, he was out of sorts,  with both his parents at the hospital, and it took me quite a little bit to understand what it was he needed, besides to be attached to my left hip.  He called me “Mom” all day,which he is inclined to call everyone just now.  Kids often go through that stage I am fairly certain, along with the occasional one where they call their parents by their first name.  We aren’t there yet, and his verbal skills are impressive, but it sometimes takes a couple tries before I catch on.

Now, every time my grandson called me “Mom” I kept telling him no, I was Nana.  ALL day!  So, I made one of his favourite dinners, spaghetti.  He is so funny to watch eating it too.  He pulls the noodles up to the edge of the bowl, with his fingers, until it is just hanging over the edge of the bowl, then sucks it up, full length.  Makes me smile thinking about how gosh darn cute he looks.  Needless to say, he was an orange/red mess from the sauce, as I did have the forethought to remove his shirt, and I took him straight to the bath after he had his THIRD helping.  You know your cooking is a hit when a fussy, almost 2 year old keeps saying More.

After bath time, I had him wrapped up in his big bath towel, cradled like a baby, because I could, having him wrapped in his big bath towel, and he again called me Mom.  I growled at him that I am NANA, it a funny, gruff, silly voice and my heart sang, when my little angel said, clear as any adult, Na Na!  We have known for a long time that he COULD say it, but he just wouldn’t.  He repeated it twice more, then one more time once we were in the living room, so everyone else heard it too, I wasan’t just hearing what I wanted to hear!  That was the sweetest thing anyone has ever called me, in the sweetest voice I have ever heard.  THERE was an overwhelming moment, I let overwhelm me..  Pretty sure there was a tear in my eye, which is saying something.  My tear ducts don’t actually work right, so I very rarely have that sensation, and it totally amazes me when I do.  I actually tasted my own tears for the first time just last week, but that is another story for another day.

Now, I am afraid, I have come to the point where I have to let this go for a while.  Little man needs NANA’s attention, while Daddy heads to hospital to see Mommy.  I will cherish and relish every second of today.  Nana truly is the best job in the world.