Thursday, April 5, 2007
Oops, Being a Gwanma is Exhausting

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I had plans of spending my day working on the romance novel I’ve been writing. I need to pull about 5 pages from it to read at the Indy Writers Group meeting Monday night. Ten minutes after I sat at the computer my phone rings. It is my 6 year old granddaughter, Jas. “Gwanma” she says, “I’m calling you from my new cell phone!” She went on to describe the wonderful attributes of her cell phone her daddy (my idiot son) had bought her for Easter. (I could go on and on about how a six year old does not need a cell phone and how my son has rocks for brains, but why raise my blood pressure.) After she hangs up I go back to writing. Five minutes later Jas calls again. “Gwanma can I come over and do crafts?” I reluctantly bid adieu to my laptop for the day and picked her up. After a productive trip to Hobby Lobby we spent the afternoon making this wonderful snow globe. First we had to sculpt the animals and flowers in it from clay. Then you fill the globe full of water, pour sprinkles in it and screw the base on it. Success! After the snow globe came the colored sand project. I’ll be sweeping bits of colored sand out of my kitchen for months. It was worth it though to see the happy, somewhat toothless, smile on her face. The crafting gene has definitely been passed down to my granddaughter.


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After our crafting session Jas informs me that she is hungry and would like to go to our favorite Chinese barfette for dinner. Not a problem. It was after all, Thursday night, which is normally girls night out. While we are munching on general Tso’s chicken and egg rolls she tells me that she wants to spend the night. I have no problem with that so I said okay. Then she proceeds to call her mother and tell her that she is staying with me until 3PM tomorrow. Why 3Pm I don’t know. But as I sit here at 10:30 PM finally getting back to my laptop now that she has fallen asleep I am silently groaning. Why? Because I have spent the last eight hours playing Go fish, Old Maid, making cinnamon rolls, doing crafts, cleaning up sand, playing with an electronic dog (don’t ask), going to Walmart and countless other things I can’t remember. If I have to spend all day tomorrow playing I just may be insane by the time 3PM rolls around. I am exhausted just thinking about all we did today. I don’t know how mothers today do it. Heck, I don’t know how I did it all those years ago. Sometimes being a Gwanma is exhausting!
 
posted by Daisy Martin at 7:24 PM | Permalink |


7 Comments:


  • At April 5, 2007 at 8:11 PM, Anonymous Anonymous

    Awwww but she's so cute, and she obviously loves you. Just think when she's your age, she'll be able to think about all the crafty things her gwanma taught her. I bet she'll even have some of them stashed in the corner of some creaky trunk. Could make me reach for a hanky just thinking about it!

    BTW blogger is having problems accepting comments from a Safari browser, not so Firefox.

     
  • At April 5, 2007 at 8:47 PM, Anonymous Anonymous

    Hey Daisy, I'd be happy to respond to the person on the forum who annoys you so much, but where's the forum and who's the gal!?

     
  • At April 6, 2007 at 8:10 AM, Blogger Isaac

    Hi. Thanks for the comment on my blog. I was trying to not make people too jealous, but your note was about the 4th one that I got about people wishing they were in the Caribbean. :)

    I like your blog. You have a good writing style. It's blunt, honest, and very well done.

    May God bless your son and keep him safe as he is in the "sand pit."

     
  • At April 6, 2007 at 9:34 AM, Blogger Daisy Martin

    Thanks Ern. I like to think that a part of me will live on in her when I am gone. I can still remember when my grandma taught me how to knit.

    I just may have to give you that link Lin I tell you it drives me NUTZ to read long forum posts from people that don't use any punctuation I will head on over to your blog and post the link in your comments See you in a bit annoying isn’t it

    Hi Isaac! I looked through your Flickr pics last night and was even more jealous. If a Navy recruiter knocked at my door I would have signed in a heartbeat! Your home base is my old stomping grounds (Norfolk, VA Beach, etc.)

     
  • At April 6, 2007 at 12:23 PM, Blogger Tracy Lynn

    I'd feel bad for you but I know how much you love being Gwanma. :-)

     
  • At April 6, 2007 at 1:13 PM, Blogger Daisy Martin

    Tracy I am soooo wiped out. I had her all day yesterday and all day today. I feel like I was hit by a hurricane. Well worth it though.

     
  • At April 7, 2007 at 1:26 PM, Blogger Sam

    What a sweetheart - and you're right - they grow up so fast. Soon she'll be hanging out with her friends, and not her 'gwanma', lol.
    My mother was still in college when she had me, so my grandmother raised me for my first year of life. I was always very close to her. She raised seven kids plus me - I don't know where she got her energy - but she was never too tired for us. Fond memories. *sigh*