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There’s something special about the relationship between a girl and
her grandmother. Not only did I have wonderful relationships with both of
my grandmothers growing up, but I also had a rare opportunity to spend
much of my childhood with one of my great-grandmothers.
With the birth of our little girl, I’ve been able to
observe the very start of her relationship with her own grandmother, my
mother. Nana has been coming down to our house for a week at a time on a
regular basis, starting with the very week that our baby was born. She was
a great help to me in those early days, making the sleep-deprived days and
endless nights much more bearable.
Now her visits coincide with the weeks when our
regular babysitter is unavailable and I need someone to watch our little
one while I go to work. Just last week, she came after not having been
here for several weeks. Neither one of us was sure how long it would take
the baby to warm up to her, but we needn’t have worried.
The minute my mom walked in the door, the baby leaned
toward her, entered her arms and put her forehead down, matching it to her
Nana’s. They had started doing this little gesture a few visits earlier
and it has become their special thing, just for the two of them. Our
youngest doesn’t do it with anyone else, just her Nana.
I had special relationships with my grandmothers,
too, and with each one had a special thing or two that was just our own
and not shared with anyone else.
My paternal grandmother was, and still is, a big
hugger. For such a small, slim woman, she can give the most bone-crushing
hug of anyone I know. I can always count on the best and biggest hugs from
her.
We also share a passion for the game of baseball.
Even now that her sight has gotten so poor that she can’t see the
television to watch a game, she listens to one every chance she gets. At
every visit with her, I can count on her commentary on the state of her
favorite team.
My maternal grandmother and I shared a love of words,
in any form. Once I was old enough to read the same books that she did, we
would share recommendations and even went to the library together. She
taught me how to play Scrabble, including showing me the tricks of
tournament level games. I had many sleepovers at her house that found us
playing a game late into the night and again while we ate breakfast.
I was also fortunate enough to know my
great-grandmother for all of my childhood. She passed away when I was 17
years old, but those years were filled with bike rides to her home at the
other side of town, shared meals, cooking lessons and, later, reading to
her at her bedside when she was living with my grandparents. At every meal
that we shared we would always make sure to sit next to each other and she
would never fail to give my hand a squeeze under the table.
I can’t wait to see what other special things my baby
and my mother will share between the two of them. I know my little girl
will always be able to count on her Nana to share special gestures and
activities. But for now, while she’s too little to talk about baseball or
the book she’s reading, or share a meal, she can put her forehead on her
Nana’s and share her love. I can’t wait until the next time I see them put
their foreheads together – the sooner, the better, right Nana?
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