You are about to become a grandfather. Congratulations!

I waited years for this to happen to me. Most of my friends are already grandparents and I have been eagerly awaiting the exciting news that will happen to me. We all know that this is the greatest achievement of being parents ourselves. No matter what else our own children do, how successful they are, how smart they are, or how funny they are, it all comes down to this. THIS, my friends, means you can finally stop being just a parent. You can now be a certified GRANDPA. This is when you can stop worrying and stop being responsible. You can stop advising your own kids and gently remind them (?) of what they are supposed to do and just ENJOY.

Yeah, with a grandson, you don’t have to worry about any of that. It is the happiness of the parents. Someone else can do all the heavy lifting while you sit back and enjoy the good stuff. You can spoil them, kiss and hug them, fill their bellies with cookies and other good things to make them love you and then send them home for their tantrums, sleepless nights and the number of other fun things we had to put up with as a parent. The time is near!

Wait… is that a concern?

Now that I know I’m going to be a grandmother, it means my own child is going to have a baby. You know this is going to change their lives completely… will they be okay? It is a big responsibility, it is expensive, will they have enough patience, how will they solve it with their jobs, will the dog be good to the baby? There are so many questions and so many concerns. I thought this was supposed to be the easy part. Every day, I seem to come up with a whole new set of things to worry about. Okay, if worrying was an Olympic sport, I’d compete and win the gold medal each and every time, but I’m sure this is normal. The difference between being a father and being a grandfather is that, this time, I know what awaits them and there is nothing I can do about it. I know very well that they are going to be great parents, but that is not going to stop me from worrying anyway. That poor little boy is going to fall and get hurt, he’s going to get sick and sometimes he’s going to be unhappy; it is a fact. Now, though, not only am I going to have to worry about my grandson during those times, but I’m also going to worry that his mom and dad have to go through it, knowing how much it hurts them, like I did. , and not being able to do anything about it. How come no one told me about this part of being a parent or grandparent?

I think instead of landing on easy parenting street, I realized that I am about to start a whole new journey as a parent. I’m sure I’m going to have my own special relationship with my grandkids, but now I realize I’m about to have a whole new relationship with my own children as well. Being a parent really is a lifelong endeavor and becoming a grandparent is just another part of the same journey, with an incredible bonus.

I will try my best not to worry about anything. I am going to spend a lot of time with my new little grandson, cuddling him, cuddling him and just loving him. When I send it home, I’ll give my own son and daughter-in-law an extra hug for all they have to worry about now.