The O.G.s…
Do you ever look at your parents with your kids, and wonder if those are the same parents that raised you? Lol!
My kids are most definitely getting a different version of the parents that raised me, and I’m all for it…
They are wiser…
More seasoned…
More intentional…
More observant…
And because they have less competing priorities… (aka - they are far removed from days filled with work, extracurricular activities, etc. etc.) they are that much more present…
When my parents found out I was pregnant with twins they were over the moon. So much so my dad sped up his retirement (second one post retiring from the military), and he and my mom were full speed ahead with operation “get as close as we can, as fast as we can, to our new grand babies”…
They were officially relocated a few months after the twins were born and right before the pandemic came to blow ish up. Lol! And when I say I have no idea how we would have navigated life without them the last two years, I mean it.
They stepped in and started watching the twins so my husband and I could work pandemic-style and they did so for over a year.
The last day my parents kept our twins before they were off to their new daycare adventure was bittersweet for many reasons… but mostly because I knew just how much joy my parents had watching them (regularly)…
I heard grandparents are the way they are with grandchildren because they now realize how fast time really does fly. And how fleeting these early childhood years are… and I believe that 1000 percent. As far as they’re concerned - their grandkids can do no wrong (for now anyways… lol).
Many times I watched them with my kids and felt so grateful and so blessed that they were not only willing, but also able, to watch two busy, high-maintenance toddlers and did so with the patience of saints. Lol!
I’m even more grateful that my children have not one, but two, sets of amazing grandparents who literally go above and beyond - not just stepping in when we need someone to watch them - but creating the kind of priceless memories that will last my kids a lifetime.
Grandparents may be the OGs, but somehow this time around, this second opportunity to “parent” in their own special way, is even more precious than before, and the bond they are creating with their grandkids is one worth cherishing and celebrating.