Babies Tale

Remember when you were absolutely the only one would could Band-Aid a knee, read Hop on Pop, or even cook a hot dog? No one else on Earth but you could sew a teddy bear’s stuffing in or comb out knots or even flush that dead fish just so. You were required, necessary and essential-when you were needed.

Those were the days when your child could not live without you. Your grandchild needs you, too. So, how come his mother acts like you’re some type of pox when you come to visit?

Daughters-in-law are not the easiest mothers to please. But, there are a few things to do that might smooth out some wrinkles along the way (no, sorry-not those wrinkles).

You may need to give up your need to be needed. You’re not the first line of defense anymore, and maybe your knees are telling you that’s a happy thing. How many times do you want to get down with the Legos or search for Barbie shoes under the couch? You can be there after Mommy washes the streaming blood off the screaming child’s chin and trundles down to soak the stains out of the new white shirt. You can be there to tell the story of when Daddy fell off his bike and got stitches in the ear he got caught in his spokes-and to hand over the ice cream.

You can be dessert. You don’t have to be meatloaf and broccoli, liver and kale, tofu cubes and soy-milk. You don’t have to be protein and carbs and fiber, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, life-enhancing flavonoids, or any other such thing. You don’t have to be, you know-nutritious-at all. You can be hot fudge if you want.

That doesn’t mean you’re junk food-don’t go overboard. Maybe a good hot fudge sundae is just the right thing after a day of liver and kale. A perfect apple might be just right after an overdose of chicken nuggets (is it possible to underdose on chicken nuggets? The things they pass off as food today… .). And it’s possible that dessert might be a good walk in the park after a day strapped in a car seat. Dessert might even be some time reading together after an hour in front of the tube. At least with all your experience, you’ll have plenty of ideas on what’s the right treat for any situation, even if the rules on what’s the right meal have changed-and they change all the time.

Your grandchild has parents-and they’re not you. It’s your daughter-in-law’s turn to be required now.

So what if you’re not carrots? Who wouldn’t rather be a cookie?

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