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Don’t Look a Grandparent in the Mouth

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So, we got back from vacation on Tuesday and while it was nice to be home (we were gone for 2 1/2 weeks!), it sucks at the same time. LOL I’ll get right to it – It’s hard not having grandparents near by. It was way too easy to be spoiled while we were visiting family. And by spoiled I mean going to the store without a kid. HA! We did take the opportunity to go out a couple times with friends in Birmingham and it’s amazing to me how some people take that kind of thing for granted. Either people who have enough money to get a babysitter whenever they want or people who have lots of family near by to help out with their kids. I was talking to my SIL tonight and we got on the subject of having kids far away from your family. That was the reason we didn’t have kids until we moved back from Arizona. Of course by then, my mom lived in Hilton Head and my dad and Mom #2 high tailed it to Galena! Talk about timing! Now I know I have plenty of friends who would gladly corral my rugrats for a night if I just asked. Unfortunately, they’re usually the friends I want to be out with!

The point of this short little tirade is not to complain or whine. When all is said and done, I have some pretty amazing destinations to visit and free places to stay. But for those of you whose parents live down the road or even an hours drive away, don’t take that for granted. Your parents may annoy you, they may not take care of your kids the exact way you’d like them to and they might just ask a few too many questions about last night when you pick the kids up in the morning, but you’re lucky to have them. I’m not saying I never complain about my parents or in-laws, but grandparents are a wonderful thing. The relationship they have with your child is something you should encourage and nurture. They’ll love your kids NO MATTER WHAT. Will could ask me 80 times a day “We goin’ to the library?” and while my response would be “YES! STOP ASKING!”, Grandma would be thrilled every time he mentioned the word. He could get up in the middle of the night and sweet talk Mimi in to just about anything that Mommy would say no to. Regardless of how terrible Will eats (or doesn’t eat in most cases), Nana is always good for a snack. My daughter could scream her ever loving heart out and what does Gigi do? Smiles and says “She’s telling us a story!” We could have missed Memaw’s birthday and she’d still be thinking about the kids and sending her love via cards and letters in the mail. Nothing warms my heart more to see my kids snuggled up watching TV with Big Al or having a tickle fight with Grandpa. I remember swimming at Lord’s Park and playing dress up in the house on Cooper Avenue with Grandma Norma (now Gigi) as a child. I can only hope my own children will have the same kind of happy memories of their grandparents… even if they aren’t as frequent.

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