A Wonderful Day at Shriner's Circus

The alarm blared next to my bed as I struggled to find my glasses on my nightstand. The sun had already broke through the clouds and the sky became clear. As I lay in bed, I hear commotion in the kitchen with Victoria sitting in her high chair and her mother feeding her oatmeal with fruit. She has been 'finding her voice' for days now and shrieks (screaming out loud) to hear her own voice. Two wonderful faces to wake up to. (And my black cat Shaddow as well!) Today was the day we are going to the Shriner's Circus with Victoria. I kinda had the feeling that she would do well with crowds but with the loud noise I wasn't sure about. Today was also the day that she was promoted from her carrier to a 'big girl' car seat. Not the 'big, big girl' kind of car seat but the kind that toddlers are in. She is a husky 21 lbs. But she is also over 27 inches long. Big girl! But I bet when she starts crawling (which she is showing signs) that weight will melt off

her. Fat babies are cute babies! As we were walking into the Thomson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, TN there were people with children everywhere. I was kind of nervous, myself being in large crowds. And I had my grand daughter in my arms so I had to make sure I kept a straight face and took care of the task at hand. We searched for our seats in the dark in the nose-bleed section. Yes it was packed with children screaming from excitement everywhere! My daughter found seats for us and I handed Victoria to her so I could take pictures of her first experience with the circus. There were tigers balancing on beams jumping through fiery hoops and elephants dancing. There were trained dogs balancing on the backs of their trainer wowing the crowds. Victoria did enjoy it but the loud acoustics and flashing lights bothered her. After a few attempts to get her to look, we decided to retreat to the corridor of the arena so Victoria will feel a bit easier with all the hoopla that was before her. Finally we were standing in the corridor looking at the action that was happening inside the arena. I noticed a stand that sold wands that light-up. I decided to buy Victoria a big pink light-up wand. She was mesmerized by the flashing lights. It was great! She seemed so excited to see her new present come to life with just a push of a button. Fortunately that diverted her attention from the flashing lights and the loud noises coming from inside the arena. Then an announcement came on the speakers saying that there will be an intermission and a display of pony rides and elephant rides were presented to the little children. My daughter was so excited that she grabbed Victoria and announced that she will go down to see if she is old enough to ride a pony. I told her that she was probably too young and the clowns will probably scare the crap out of her. Like always, she paid no attention to me and walked down to the bottom of the arena where the pony rides were. I stayed up in the corridor searching for them to just get a glimpse of my baby and her baby within the crowds of other parents. I noticed that my daughter was next to a crowd of people strapping on harnesses for Victoria to ride a pony. I honestly couldn't believe it! She is only 7 months old and she is enjoying what other kids way-older than her- are enjoying. My daughter and a helper walked in a circular-motion following a circle of ponies attached to one another. Victoria enjoyed every minute! Soon the ride was over and she had to leave her pony. I was hoping that she would come back up to where I was standing but they were

surrounded by a bunch of clowns that took pictures with my grand daughter. If she was scared she never let it show. Then my daughter took her to get her face painted in the form of a cat. Yes she was young but I am so glad that my daughter introduced her to that type of social action. She didn't cry or become irritated. She just smiled and was very attentive. Basically she people-watched. As I sit here trying to find the words to put into this blog, I smile to the fact that my daughter had shown me what a true parent does. Its never too early to make memories with your babies.

I am proud of the mommy that she is becoming.

Walking in my shoes: How to become a Hip Grandmother

Elderly-looking grandmothers are behind us. We are now in a world where humans are living longer, children are becoming adult (mentally) at an earlier age, and grandparents aren't quite looking like the traditional grandparents that we had when we were younger. Long ago were the aprons with grey and white hair up in a bun, smelling the house filled with assorted aromas of apple or pumpkin pies and the smell of moth balls with doilies on the end-tables in the living room. Fortunately we can enjoy our grandchildren for decades to come and being out in public with them (if they are older grandchildren) can be an adventure. The modern grandmother thinks and is open to many situations as their kids and grandkids. As I am moving along with my journey to become a fun-loving hip grandmother, there are a few things that I have been learning along the way.

Dressing your age is not the way of a hip grandmother. No one wants to see a woman in a bathrobe walking around the house. But on the other side of the coin, you needn't dress like one of your granddaughter's friends. Think logical about how much leg you would like to expose. Remember, you are not a teenager or young adult anymore. Learn to act like it. When you walk into a clothing shop, you will notice the women's section sports a wonderful display of assorted colors for you to choose from. Quietly walk out of the junior's section where your granddaughter frequents and look around to see what your individual style is. Thats the thing about being a hip grandmother. We know ourselves in ways that many young people don't. We have the ability to mix and match items that doesn't make us look trashy and trying to compete with our children's child but in a way that can send a message that we have style in our every day life.

This includes hairstyles and makeup. Most grandmothers of old have no desire to 'wash the grey out' of their head. Make way for the new grandmothers of today! Sure, its fine if you have changed your hair color since you were a teenager and no one minds if you have a few streaks of grey to show wisdom. You have experience in life and you should let it show! Having a unique personality that goes with your style speaks volumes to the world that you are 'old enough to know better but young enough to do it again.'

Find an even level that you and your grandchildren can have private talks. For instance, there are some things that my own mother and my daughter talk about which brings their bond so much stronger. They are 'best friends' and have inside jokes that sometimes I am not involved in. As a parent, I feel excluded at times but as an up-and-coming grandparent, I hope I get to have those inside jokes with my grand daughter one day. Patience is a virtue. Keep open communication with your grandchildren and not closed-minded about different social stigmas aren't and shouldn't be shown as stigmas anymore. The times have changed since we were young and you need to learn how to 'roll with the punches'.

Technology at its finest. In a world of computers and the internet, we have to be able to keep up with many things in life. Especially what our grandchildren are up to. Take a class at the local library of the different programs such as Word or even how to learn to navigate across cyberspace. Never look at technical gadgets as a burden in your life, rather look at them as a convenience that you can find new ways of communication be it text messaging, Facetiming, e-mailing, social networking and/or video chat.

Laugh with the good times. Having a great rapport with your grandchildren is a must! If they can't speak confidentially with their own parents, remind them that you always have a trustworthy, non judgmental ear for them to unload their little feelings on to you. Have in-depth conversations to let them know that you understand what they are going through. Just listen, without pushing advice on them and talk back and forth about what the solution is to the problem at hand.

To every season, learn, learn, learn. Remember to look at life as a learning experience because, lets be frank, you aren't finished. I assure you there are still places to see and things to do. Take a class to learn about the latest technology or join a book club at your local library. Keep your mind energized as you would do with your body. Start doing puzzles and word-finds online as well as on paper. You can even do them with your younger grandchildren to keep your mind crisp and to build a bond with them. Strive to push education to your grandchildren to allow them to live in a better world than you did when you were a child. Isn't that what we all want?

Whatever you do, where ever you go remember you are still an individual with your own identity. Remember what that is??