During the last week in August, Lyle and I had the privilege of looking after our granddaughter. The week was both wonderful and exhausting. For starters, Lyle and I aren’t as young as we were when we were parents ourselves, and keeping up with an energetic and enthusiastic six and a half year old was quite different than our usual retired lifestyle. By the end of the week, I knew that I had renewed admiration for the coping skills of parents of the current generation. How do they manage!
Recently, I was reading an autobiography of a young man who was a single parent to two young boys. Added to this mix was the fact that his former wife was mentally unbalanced and he himself was visually impaired. The former led to all sorts of emotional, legal and financial difficulties. The fact that he was visually impaired led to additional coping challenges.
I remember some of the challenges Lyle and I faced when my sight changed. We were both working full time and our children were only seven and eight years old. We had many family meetings as we attempted to negotiate our way through the new pathway that our lives had taken. What changes were needed when mom could no longer drive or read print? How could we work together as a family to overcome some of these new obstacles? Our children learned early on that they needed to help more around the house and to plan ahead for activities that involved transportation to other locations. I like to think that they also learned a degree of empathy as they had an inside look at my struggles. As I look at them as adults themselves, I think that they have both been able to transpose this compassion and understanding in their interactions with others in their lives.
So, hats off to all parents! I hope that you are receiving the support you need in this very important role. In our role as grandparents, Lyle and I are just looking forward to spring break when we can have Lexi for another week long sleep over!
In the picture with this post, Lexi and I are on our way to the playground. I love the fact that she is still young enough to innocently hold my hand.
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| Sue and Lexi |
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