Birthdays, Big Shot Grandma

                                   BIRTHDAYS, Big Shot Grandma
PART ONE                                        

Some people love their own birthdays, as children, young adults, adults and

finally seniors. They love to tell everyone when it’s their day, and to feel

 a warm glow inside about it.

But I’m not one of them. I have what I call ‘mixed feelings’ about my

birthdays. Happy, not happy, I’m mostly indifferent and because my

friends and family think I'm strange I am always glad when that day is

 over.

For me, the birthdays that I have treasured are those of my children and

especially my grandchildren. I loved the shopping for their presents from

the time they were just babies. No clothing from me… let the other

grandparents give them the pajamas, the overalls and even cute outfits

from The Baby Gap.

Uh, uh, I could be found in Toys R Us looking for dolls for the girls, the

soft cuddly ones to start with… later graduating to the Barbies, and of

course that most memorable Cabbage Patch doll when in the height of the

craze I was able to locate one, with the ‘adoption papers’ for my first

granddaughter.

For the boys, balls… and for both anything on wheels.

Wheels start early, by the age of 2 the boy is ready for the simplest

wooden train set which, of course, comes in a BIG BOX and has to be put

together while we’re at the party. So obviously my gift had to be brought in

with a lot of excitement, last. For all their birthday parties my gifts included

other things on wheels, wagons, scooters, tricycles, (with pink or shiny

silver streamers hanging from the handle bars), the cars, Barbies or fire

engines, and then of course for each their first two wheeler bicycle!

And because my gifts were always the BIGGEST they were kept hidden in

another room until after all the other presents in boxes were opened.

Then- mine was rolled in.

 But, as the years passed, 3 things converged that ended my rein as the ‘Big

Shot Grandma". The three, not necessarily in order were:

1) Suddenly (and belatedly?) I became aware that being the “Big Shot

Grandma’, while fun for me, maybe wasn’t so nice for the other grandparents

who were wonderful, warm and loving people.

2) About the same time the children already had all the ’wheels’ that were

out there (except for a real car which was never going to come from me).

3) And finally when I wasn’t looking, the TECH AGE sprung upon us,

even for very young children. The Toys R Us aisles were full of them

(starting at age 12- 24 months, for goodness sakes!). But I didn’t ‘get’ it.

And then as they became teenagers in a world so different than it was when

I was one, things such as an ‘I- POD’ with 1000 songs on it, became popular.

I didn’t 'get'  that either. I love music...but 1000 songs!

So, my dilemma was, for a grandchild’s birthday WHAT can I get her or

him? I thought about it and asked my children what they suggest and the

answer was simple. “ Ma, get them 'gift cards’ so they can buy anything

they want for themselves.” So there I was in CVS of all places, buying ‘gift

cards’ for each and every birthday as they came along. No fun for me at all!

And my gifts no longer came in a BIG BOX, nor were kept in another room

to be presented last or presented at all. My envelope just sat there on a table

with the other birthday cards.

The glory days of being the BIG SHOT GRANDMA were sadly over. 

I loved it while it lasted . When I confided it to my daughter, she said,

“ It’s okay, Ma, you’ll have the chance again when you’re a Great Grandma."

It was one of the nicest things she ever said to me.


                                                       THE END
My Side of the Senior Street: I call them: FACTION, a blend of FACT and FICTION