GRAND Magazine - November/December 2017 - 22

memories and moments

I didn't want grandkids

But, my grandkids saved me from myself
BY KAYE CURREN

A

fter they're born, everything
changes.
I didn't want grandkids born
into the world we presently live in, with an
unstable government, ISIS, shootings, bombings, bullying in schools, and compromised
morality.
Plus, I didn't think I liked kids anymore.
Let's face it, kids are not what they used to
be. In my last teaching job, a class of kindergarteners, I heard language I had never
dreamed of hearing - and I am not a sheltered
adult. Maybe I was no longer cut out to enjoy
children.

"

Could I handle
being called Grams,
Grandma, Grand-mère?
How old would that
make me feel?

"

I had grown impatient with my neighborhood kids making
noises outside my window. Do they really need to emit highpitched screams when they play?
Or maybe it was because I didn't want to get any older. Could
I handle being called Grams, Grandma, Grand-mère? How old
22 GRAND

NOVEMBER DECEMBER 2017

would that make me feel? Would having grandkids lead to being
called... a "senior citizen?"
While I pondered these obstacles to grandmotherhood, my
granddaughter, Ellie, was born. That vulnerable, defenseless little
being played with my unsuspecting heart. In an instant, I knew
I could take down Goliath with a slingshot. I began to plot how
to capture her enemies and put them in locked cells. I decided

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to start a daily prayer vigil against any and all
dangers.
Every baby became a precious bundle, every
child, God's happiest creation.
Then little Sean came out of the womb,
sobbing because he had lost his safe, quiet
shelter from the storm - blinding hospital
lights and nurses chattering on and on. (Face
Time and video are a blessing only some of the
time.)
I was ready to disguise myself, break in, and
rescue him. My daughter, of course, would have
been quite upset about that. She was having a
wonderful time, playing mom for the first time. I
settled for deleting all the first hour photos and
videos and started with the one of him swaddled
and sleeping peacefully.
Now every baby is a precious flower who is
strong, sassy, smart, and strong.
Thank God. My grandchildren rescued me from
becoming a nasty, kid-hating old lady.

Kaye Curren has returned to writing after 30 years
of raising two husbands, two children, two teenage
stepchildren, three horses, umpteen dogs and cats,
and several non-speaking parakeets. She used to write
computer manuals but now writes humor, essays and
memoir. Her essays appear on LiteraryMama.com,
humorwriters.org, DivorcedMoms.com, BeyondYourBlog.
com, SheWrites.com, and SheKnows.com. Find her other
musings on her website/blog at www.writethatthang.com

http://www.grandsub.com https://www.facebook.com/GRANDmagazine/ https://www.twitter.com/grandMmagazine http://www.LiteraryMama.com http://www.humorwriters.org/ http://www.divorcedmoms.com/ http://beyondyourblog.com http://beyondyourblog.com http://www.SheWrites.com http://www.SheKnows.com http://www.writethatthang.com/

GRAND Magazine - November/December 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of GRAND Magazine - November/December 2017