There was a time when it was the norm for extended families to live together.
It was a time when grandparents were an integral part of a family's day-to-day living. A time when an older generation was deemed to be a source for teaching life experiences to younger members of a family.
Although those days have primarily ended, does that mean that grandparents and especially grandmothers no longer are needed in the raising of children?
"Some scientists think women evolved to live way past their childbearing years so that in middle age, unencumbered by babies of their own, they can make sure their daughters’ kids thrive.
These scientists posit that back in the days before farming, young mothers were better able to keep their kids alive when their own mothers were around to help forage—an advantage that has been dubbed the “grandmother effect.” (source unknown)
Okay, so that is the theory for why we live longer, but what is our purpose in the family now?
Are we meant to take cruises where we play shuffleboard or hang out in bingo parlors?
Are we meant to pull up a park bench and settle in?
I agree with the author's thought that the importance of grandmothers has ebbed and flowed over time.
Maybe grandmothers were less important in the mid twentieth century when most mothers stayed at home, but the importance of grandmothers may be on the upswing once again.
I know that personally these last three years of living closer to my grandchildren has done so much for me and I hope also for my grandchildren.
As Mother's Day approaches this week I realize that our jobs as mothers doesn't end when our children are grown, but continues on to the next generation and in many cases the generation after that.
There is no replacement for love, and grandmothers have an endless amount of that.
Happy Mother's Day to all of my fellow grandmothers.
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