FAMILY Best. Job. Ever. WHO KNEW BEING A GRANDPARENT WOULD BE SO MUCH FUN? BY SANDE AND RICK IRWIN
Crouched down – so close to the earth that I can smell the rich, dark soil – I peer at the tiny bug making its way across the puddle in the driveway; a puddle that must seem like a vast ocean. A little hand reaches out to offer a safe resting place, no fear of creepy crawlies, just an inquisitive child wanting to explore. It is during these encounters that I feel the most blessed to have the best job in the world, one that has no schedule, no limits, no judgment... just pure, in-the-moment wonder. On Nov. 7, 2012, my husband Rick and I were promoted to the best job ever… we became grandparents. From that day on we became Nana and Ba (our granddaughter Gracie’s choice as she learned to say Grandpa), and knew that every day we would work on developing a loving, supportive and joyful relationship with her and with her brother Gavin, who arrived over three years later. Grandparents provide a different type of relationship than parents do with their kids. Speaking for ourselves, it is a more relaxed experience. Without the pressures that come with raising children, our role as grandparents is one of unconditional love and support, filling our time together with imaginative play and creativity, while passing down skills and knowledge. Grandkids love to learn and what better way to spend time than learning something together. The pandemic has made it difficult for some families to nurture the grandparent and grandchild relationship. In our case, our grandkids live in the U.S., and with border closures, it has been a challenge to see them. Thankfully with technology, we can talk every day and share some of their milestones and daily happenings. We have had tours of Gracie’s doll house, been shown her dolls and their extensive wardrobe, listened to tales from Girl Scout meetings, checked out all the cool bugs and reptiles in her book, and enjoyed a dance party or two. Gavin will call and ask what we did that day, telling us all we need to know about tractors, showing us his latest creations, and playing dress up. Many times when the kids video chat, all they want to do is play around with the settings to become dragons or catch pizza instead of chatting. What is a grandparent supposed to do? Play along, enjoy the giggles, become a pizza eating dragon! Sometimes we read a book or have the kids read to us. There are many ways to interact using the Internet such as family Bingo games or watching movies together. We have even organized charades, favourite jokes nights and trivia calls with them. Our grandkids know they can call any time to share anything with us... even if it is a 30 second call to say they just saw a snake eat a frog on TV! It always makes our hearts sing when we receive a voicemail notification from them and have fun sending one back. When the kids are here we are completely invested in their time with us. The chore list is shortened so that our precious time with them is maximized. The great outdoors never fails to keep us all active as we build memories together. Sharing our love of respecting Mother Nature through gentle exploration, teaching them how things grow, and child-led play has us looking at the world with new wonder as we experience it through their eyes. Gracie wants to be a master baker so we spend time learning how to make macarons or basket weave pastry for a pie. While the pie is baking, you will find us outside saving a bug or learning to change a tire. Gavin is all about farm work and you never see him without his John Deere hat. If he isn’t outside on the tractor with Ba, you will find him and Nana building a Lego city or helping Ba bake cookies. Sometimes letting their time with us be child-led allows for a day filled with learning together about a mushroom we saw on a walk in the woods, or tracks left by a woodland creature. Just the simple question, “What do you want to learn about today?” opens an incredible opportunity for adventure. Many times our everyday activities around our property and in the house allow for learning and play... nothing fancy or planned, just sharing our knowledge. It’s important for us to spend time doing things they find interesting but just as important to do things with them that you enjoy or they may not have the opportunity to be exposed to, such as planting a garden or raising chickens. It’s all a part of sharing what you love with an open heart and open mind. You might not really like painting rocks but the time spent chatting and being creative is time well spent. We like to travel with our grandkids and do our best to introduce them to different cultures and experiences. It adds an element of pureness to travel since they don’t have any judgments and always live in the moment. There’s nothing like returning to a place you have visited previously and visiting again with your grandkids... I guarantee you will have a totally different experience seeing it through their eyes. World travel with our grandkids started early with a volunteer trip to Nicaragua when Gracie was five and Gavin was 18 months. Watching them playing with the local kids reminded us that we are all the same no matter how you live or what you have. Volunteering and giving back has always been a part of our family life. As grandparents it’s important to us to instill this value within our grandchildren, whether it be locally, such as picking up garbage or helping at an event, or global service, such as designing a bookmark to raise funds for sea turtles or gathering supplies for a sloth sanctuary. We truly believe that experiences are better than things, and you don’t have to travel far – there is so much to do in our own area. Spend a night in a yurt, plan a day-long road trip, go on a search for the best poutine, do a scavenger hunt or Bingo at a local provincial park, take them to a play or a concert, visit the local library, museum or art gallery, take a class together, volunteer at an event, hike or cycle the local trails, or pick up litter in a playground. The things to do are truly endless. A lovely way to nurture the grandparent/child relationship is by having routines and traditions. greybrucekids.com • 23
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