Grandparents are similar to a piece of string - handy to have around and easily wrapped around the fingers of their grandchildren. ~Author Unknown
On Saturday while having lunch with my Mom and Sister, we asked my Mom...."Why is it that now that she is an Abuela (Grandma in espanol) all of the rules that we had when we were kids don't apply to her grandsons?" It's as if she and my Dad have lost their minds now that they have grand kids......
My sister and I have awesome childhood memories and now that I have my own kids I appreciate it even more. I have also learned to appreciate the rules that my Mom and Dad had in place and how strict they were especially my Dad, all he had to do was say our names and we knew we were in trouble (heck, I'm 40 years old and still would never attempt to sass back to my Dad)......being raised by my strict Catholic/ Puerto Rican parents made me who I am today. :)
Which is why it baffles me at what my kiddos are allowed to get away with......although I should have known this would happen.....it started as early as the difference between me and my sister who definitely got away with a lot more than I did. Then we have the example of my Mom and her "Grand dogs"......she would (and still does for my dog) stop at a fast food place to buy her "Grand dog" fries. When my Cocker Spaniel Mickey was alive we could only get him fries from Chick Fil A or Steak & Shake because McDonalds and Wendys was just too greasy and would upset his stomach (I'M NOT MAKING THIS UP).
Here are some of the areas where my parents have completely lost it.......
When grandparents enter the door, discipline flies out the window. ~Ogden Nash
The Furniture: When I was a kid, I was constantly reminded that you do not put your shoes on the couch, you do not stand on the couch and you definitely don't eat on the couch! Shoot, there was one whole room that my sister and I were not allowed in...the living room was for company and grown ups only. We were always summoned to the family room! The grand kids... are now allowed to stand on the couch, put their feet on the couch, take the pillows and throw them and even eat and drink on the couch!!!! WHAT THE HECK.....instead I have turned into my parents and at home I am teaching them not to do all those things!!!
Grandparents are there to help the child get into mischief they haven't thought of yet. ~Gene Perret
Dinner & Dessert: When I was a kid, there would be no dessert if you didn't eat dinner. And if you didn't like what was made for dinner well that was just tough! "What do you think, you have a restaurant here", my Mom would say. The grand kids.... not only is the threat of not getting dessert if you don't eat dinner null & void but now my Mother's kitchen looks like the buffet at the Golden Corral! There are options to chose from and if she hasn't cooked it she will just for the grand kids. I will come pick them up after their weekly "Friday dinner at Abuela's" and she's like, "Oh yeah, the kids ate pasta and Spanish rice and plantains and chicken and veggies and they asked me for french fries so I made them some".......WHAT THE HECK.....I get the leftovers offered to me to be re-heated in the microwave. Which then brings me to the subject of dessert and people we are not talking a brownie for dessert.....there are more dessert options than at your local Dairy Queen! And let me tell you what happened a couple weeks ago with Abuela and Abuelo's inability to "Just Say No" when the kids ask for more than one dessert.....WARNING! THE STORY AIN'T PRETTY! It was one of their "Fiesta Friday's" and I went to pick the boys up after work. As usual my Mom gives me a report of what they ate/ didn't eat for dinner. She then informs me that she didn't know how much Jordan LOVES ice cream.......he loved it so much that he ate an ice cream sandwich and then saw my Dad get out the ice cream cones and make himself one so they made one for Jordan too but after finishing the first cone, he wanted more so they let him have another one.....3 SERVINGS OF ICE CREAM (an ice cream sandwich and 2 cones for a 3 year old)....at that point I told my Mom that I didn't think that was a good idea and I was surprised he didn't get sick. As we were walking out the door she also tells me that she put him on the potty and he didn't want his PULL UP back on so she left it off of him (CAN YOU SEE WHERE I'M GOING WITH THIS?).........No worries I say, our car ride is literally only 10 minutes. Well about 3 minutes from the house I started to wonder why it smells like there was a new sewage processing plant opened close to our neighborhood......but there was no sewage plant, Oh no, it was an ice cream explosion in the back seat of my car! Yes folks, it smelled like I was riding in the Rooto Rooter truck. If it wasn't because child protective services would have been called I would have hosed Jordan off in the driveway! Instead I stripped him down in the driveway and hosed him off in the shower.....I also tore that car seat out of my car so fast and hosed it down with Pine sol, my neighbors must think I'm nuts! When I told my parents what happened....my Mom blamed my Dad and my Dad blamed my Mom. Nice huh!!!
The reason grandchildren and grandparents get along so well is that they have a common enemy. ~Sam Levenson
Discipline: When I was a kid, uh huh....everyone thinks my Mom is so nice! Well let me tell you what, when we were kids she had one big can of Puerto Rican Whoop A** and she would use it when she needed too. I remember back one cold winter evening when we lived in Far Rockaway, NY.....I thought it was a good idea to take and put my Holly Hobbie pajamas on the heater to warm them up......not so smart! I almost burned the house down (no flame retardant pj's back in the 70s). That night I got the biggest spanking ever.....I think if I look close enough my Mom's hand print might still be engraved on my booty! :) The grand kids.....NONE!!! My Mom uses me as the threat! "You don't want me to tell Mommy, do you?" WHAT!!
I don't intentionally spoil my grand kids. It's just that correcting them often takes more energy than I have left. ~Gene Perret
Toys/ Gifts: When I was a kid, if I wanted something.....I would have to wait for my birthday or Christmas there was none of these "anytime gifts". Now, my sister on the other hand was a little bit more spoiled (she's the baby of course)! It was probably 1980 and my sister LOVED the Muppet Show.....well one day she decided that she needed a Miss Piggy doll....and she was really good about bugging the heck out of my parents until she got what she wanted. My Dad sets off to find Miss Piggy and goes all over Queens and Long Island, NY to try to find her.....finally my sister gets her Miss Piggy. My poor Dad would have probably found Miss Piggy sooner if he wouldn't have gone to every store asking for...(insert Spanish accent here) Mrs Pig! The grand kids....there is some weekly gadget or trinket they get. And every Friday there is a new DVD for them to watch at Abuela's.
Grandchildren: the only people who can get more out of you than the IRS. ~Gene Perret
Money & Allowance: When I was a kid, I had to do my chores in order to get an allowance and there was no yearly increase to cover inflation either. The grand kids....every Friday they leave my Mom and Dad's house with money in their pockets. Jordan knows the word money very well! So well, that if we go out to eat and pay the bill with cash he screams out money and grabs for it to put in his pocket! At the rate they're going getting money from my parents every week they will be able to buy brand new Lexus's when they turn 16. ;)
"You're more trouble than the children are" is the greatest compliment a grandparent can receive. ~Gene Perret
All jokes aside though, I love seeing a side of my parents that I had not seen before. They are so in love with their two grandsons....its a beautiful thing!
Much love to all Grandparents!!!
Much love to all Grandparents!!!
On the seventh day God rested. His grandchildren must have been out of town. ~Gene Perret
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