Grilled Grandma: Connie

How many children do you have? I have 8 children ranging in ages from 35 to 19. Four of them have children. The other four will have children soon!

How many grandchildren? What are their ages? I have 10 grandchildren, 7 girls and 3 boys. The oldest is 8, there are three 5-year-olds, four 3-year-olds, a 2-year-old and a sweet 7-month-old.

Any great grandchildren? No

What do your grandchildren call you? They call me Gwamma, until they can say their Rs then it's Gramma. Some add more to that name. I'm Gramma Connie or Gramma with the white hair! It's always good to be reminded of my age!

How often do you get to see your grandchildren? We all live in the same county. Some I may see twice a week, others once a week, and depending on how busy we all are, it could be a couple of weeks before I see some.

What is the best thing about being a grandma? The best thing is being able to enjoy and love my grandchildren without having to enjoy and love them 24 hours a day! I'm not as young as I used to be and I truly admire my daughters and daughter-in-law for all they do to care for my grandkids.

What is the most challenging part of being a grandma? The most challenging for me is working full time and not being available to go to all their activities.

Describe a recent time that one (or more) of your grandchildren made you laugh out loud. Almost every time I'm with my grandchildren, I laugh out loud.  One time that comes to mind is when 5 of my grandkids sang a song and danced at their uncle's wedding luncheon. It was very cute and comical.

What is your favorite thing to do with grandchildren who visit your house? We all like to play on the trampoline when it's good weather.  When we're in the house, we play games. One of the board games we like to play is called, "Going to Grandma's House". We play that 2 or 3 times with each visit and it's getting worn out! I'm the Mancala Queen and since my kids won't play that game with me any more, I'm schooling my oldest grandkids so we can have some real strategizing competition! They're almost there.

What is your favorite thing to do when visiting grandchildren at their house? We like reading books, singing, and dancing.

How do you maintain the bond between yourself and your grandchildren between visits? Usually with a phone call or just checking up on them through their parents.

What do you most want to pass along to your grandchildren? You don't need to be rich to be generous. You can give of your time, talents, and love. Never forget that you are a child of God and with that comes many blessings.
 
What is one word you hope your grandkids think of when they think of you? There are many things I hope to be remembered by, but if I have to choose only one, it would be fun-LOVE-ing. (Heavy on the love)
 
What is one thing you wish you had learned earlier as a grandparent? I really can't think of anything. I had good examples of grandparenting from my own parents and I'm learning as I go along.

What one bit of advice would you give a new grandma? Cherish the journey of grandmothering. You never know when your health or time may prevent you from enjoying the grandchildren.

Take some time to get to know Connie and her family better by visiting her charming blog, I Started Out as a Child.