One To Grow On | 24/7 Mommy

Barbara Graham

I don’t know Barbara Graham from Adam, but I think I like her. My mother came across this article about the 7 Laws of Grandparenting on Grandparents.com.

Here is an excerpt:

1. Seal your lips.Even if you’re an expert who has written 13 bestsellers on parenthood, your adult sons and daughters will assume you know nothing about childrearing. Your advice and opinions will not be welcome, unless directly solicited. (Even then, it’s iffy as to whether the new parents really want to hear your answer.) Tread lightly. As Anne Roiphe laments in Eye of My Heart, “Ah, my poor tongue is sore from being bitten.”

2. You may love thy grandchild as thine own — but never forget that he or she is not thine own. I was confused about this in the beginning. I was at the hospital when Isabelle was born and I thought we were all one big happy family. Not. I had to win over her parents. They loved me — I knew that — but did they trust me? In the early days I felt as if I were auditioning for the part of grandparent. Did I hold Isabelle properly? Didn’t I know that you never put a newborn down on her stomach? It took me a few blunders to secure their trust — which must be renewed every so often, like a driver’s license.

Good right? Harsh truths, but things we should all learn and review often in preparation for Granny-hood.

You can read the rest the article it its entirety at Grandparents.com

There’s been much ado about the Obama Date Night two weeks back. Regardless of how you feel about the Commander in Chief taking time out for a date, few can deny that married people need to be putting aside A LOT more “together time”. Given declining household Entertainment budgets and increased work hours, Date Night may be seriously in danger (more below).

Obama Date Night

We all know that it is important to invest in the relationship that sets the tone for how the home is run, how finances are handled and how children perceive love and companionship, but we rarely ever DO anything about it. Myself included. The excuses run the gamut; not enough time, too tired, not enough money, but there are really simple ways to set aside a few minutes to reconnect.

Whatever you do, please do not Google “date night ideas”. I just did. These ideas are clearly written by people (mostly women) who have no idea how relationships work, or frankly, how “fun” works either. I came across: Act like tourists in your own neighborhood. Go to one of the major sites, take photos, and pretend you’re seeing this place again for the first time. Seriously? You need to be single if that’s something you’d be willing to do with free time.

I suggest taking baby steps, start by playing hooky. Every now and then shirk some responsibilities for an hour or two that won’t put your household in grave danger. Just go somewhere very local together. If possible, pick a place with no To Do List attached, so forego a trip to the Supermarket or Home Depot. Pick a book store, or a coffee shop. Sit on a bench and just people-watch. Spending the same amount of time shooting the breeze with your spouse as you do with co-workers catching up on “Lost” can go a really long way. We all need to restore a little peace into the very hectic, duty laden job of a marriage. Before you know it, someone will have to get back to work, go pick up the kids, start a load of laundry or figure out what’s for dinner, so give yourselves a few minutes to give all that up for some meaningless conversation about whether or not Taco Bell should be held solely responsible for America’s obesity problem.

You can always work your way up to the Broadway night on the town, Commander in Chief style.

Category Archives: One To Grow On

Barbara Graham’s 7 Laws of Grandparenting

Play Hooky

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