Nonna

If I had known how wonderful it would be to have grandchildren,
I'd have had them first.  
~Lois Wyse

Being a nonna (grandmother) is the ultimate blessing!  It is an experience that can only be understood by living the excitement.  "Grandparenthood" involves unconditional love, freedom, energy, action, entertainment, wonder, and laughter.  Grandchildren have an awesome healing power which helps you forget your worries.  They also bring a momentum to your life just when you thought that life was becoming boring or routine.   There is no routine with grandchildren......because just when you think you know how to take care of them or entertain them, your grandchildren change it all up.  You have a front row seat to the physical and spiritual development of a life which you are free to watch......maybe guide.....but ultimately my goal of being a nonna is having fun with my nipotino (grandson).

  On the seventh day God rested. 
His grandchildren must have been out of town. 
~Gene Perret

When Carter Paul comes to visit......He enters my home yelling "Nonna!".......This is music to my ears.......His little exciting and cheerful voice just warms my heart as I hear his little man body hop through the house like a rabbit looking for me.  When he scans the house to make sure everything is in its place, his facial expressions are so entertaining. If he sees something that he doesn't like or understand......Carter Paul shakes his head with disgust.  He is so animated and full of energy.  He will go from sweeping the kitchen to pulling out the kitchen pots and pans......to wanting to go outside to kick the soccer ball.....to wanting a snack....to  sweeping the mulch out of the garden......to laying down for a brief thought of a nap.   Nothing else matters when my nipotino is in the house.  I wait for Carter to be ready for my favorite activity.......rocking him while I sing "Frosty the Snowman".  He'll tell me to keep singing....or to rock faster......One of his favorite things to do is hopping into my rocker before me.....giggling.....as he pulls me down on top of his lap!  

 Perfect love sometimes does not come until the first grandchild.
~Welsh Proverb

 

Having and raising my children was a unique experience with each one.  Children can test the limits of your love, and challenge the limits of your wisdom.  Parenting comes with no owner's manual, but I would choose to be a mother all over again for ....Faithful love brings its own reward.......(Proverb 11).   At one time, I once described the love for my children as natural, tough, yet unconditional.  As I reflect back......I admit that my love was unconditional.....but I still expected them to follow the house rules.....so wasn't there really some conditions?!  There is built in stress and worries with parenting.....But as a nonna.........those all fall away.  Those energy burners belong to my daughter, Shelby, and son-in-law, Trevor.   I have finally experienced true unconditional love as a nonna.....no stress...no worries.....I have found a built in trust that everything will be ok.  

Mothering my children did not involve spoiling them.  They did not get what they wanted and learned that whining did not work on me.  I had an armor which their nagging could not wear down. Since becoming a nonna, my armor has weakened.  If Carter wants a couple of biscotti before dinner, then he gets a couple of biscotti......If Carter doesn't eat all of his vegetables, then he can still have desert.  Now, I don't let this habit of giving in to Carter's demands all of the time, but it is fun, because I know that his parents are doing a wonderful job at disciplining Carter, and giving him a stable foundation for good habits.  I want my nipotino to feel like he can come to nonna's house for loving support no matter what.....I want Carter to realize that his worries and stress can fall away while he is at nonna's.  I want my home to represent a zone of happiness and safety.  I'll support him with anything for my nipotino can do no wrong in my eyes!  God will support my steadfast prayers for my nipotino.....that I trust.   My prayer for Carter Paul is for wisdom and humility.  He alone works wonders, for his faithful love endures forever (Psalm 136), and Yahweh is tenderness and pity, slow to anger, full of faithful love (Psalm 145).

  If nothing is going well, call your grandmother.   

~Italian Proverb

In a couple of weeks, a nipotina will arrive.  I am so excited!  A granddaughter must have her own uniqueness.  Her name will be Eloise Ann which means that she will be a famous warrior who is favored by God.  An excellent name for a female from my lineage due to the strong-willed survival character which woman in my family have.  She'll probably be born with a sword in her hand.  My prayer for Eloise will be for gentleness and patient passion.

St. Joseph the worker, pray for my family and their intentions.

St. Anne, pray for my grandchildren.

St. Benedict, pray for those with kidney disease.

St. Therese the little flower, pray for my humility.

St. Pio, pray for my patience.
St. Jude, pray for impossible cases.
St. Florian, pray for all emergency responders and fire fighters.
St. St. Gregory, the Great, pray for the virtuous efforts of all teachers.
Dear Lord, please bless those who have chosen to love me.
May I bless those who have blessed me.  Amen.
- little petunia