As I’m writing this blog post, my toddler triplets are at the beach with their grandparents (yes, those are my kids in the pic and that is their grammy leading the pack). There are several things that are amazing and fabulous about this situation. First, I am free from cleaning up food, kissing boo-boos and breaking up fights for the next several days. Second, my parents actually graciously and willingly took three 2-year olds to the beach. Third, my children’s grandparents are easily able to keep up with my toddler triplets for days on end.
Truthfully, I’ve never given much thought to what kind-of grandparent I want to be. I’m only thirty-something after all. But since having kids, I have become more aware of just how lucky my children are to have two sets of highly functioning grandparents. They are awesome. Both my husband and I’s parents are very active, healthy and constantly on the go. One plays tennis, one attends my bootcamps twice a week and the other two are out golfing almost every weekend. This means they can enjoy their “middle age” (which by the way is now between 50-70, at least in my book) through travel, sports and of course, their grandkids! And it doesn’t end there! My kids have great uncles and aunts who also hike Alaska in the dead of winter and get up at 6 AM every morning to work out.
Thinking back to my own grandparents brings back memories of my siblings and I sitting in the tv room playing cards with my grandma or watching her sew her newest doily. My grandparent’s would never have been able to push all of us in a triple stroller or chase us down the beach. And you know what, I never was close to any of my grandparents. I could never relate to them. Yet, my children’s grandparents have no problems keeping up with them. It is fabulous being able to confidently leave my children with their grandparents and know they are in the best of hands.
I have friends who aren’t so lucky. Many of them have parents with health problems due to inactivity or lifelong unhealthy eating patterns. They worry about leaving their young children with their parent’s because they don’t think “the grandparent’s could keep up with the grandchildren”. There is no way they could even take their grandkids to the park for thirty minutes let alone the beach for a week. It breaks my heart.
Here’s a wake-up call. If you think you may have problems keeping up with young children in your 30’s or 40’s, imagine how hard it is going to be 20-30 years later! Honestly, you won’t be able to do it. You will be the grandparent that is sitting in front of the TV limping as you get up to grab a bag of chips as your grandkids cringe. Forget running down the beach with them; you probably won’t even be able to make it down the stairs.
If you think you don’t care if you can’t chase down your toddler grandchildren, you probably don’t have kids. I won’t experience the utter bliss of being a grandparent for at least 20 years (PLEASE!) but I can imagine how fabulous it must be. My children’s grandparents light up around my children. They are so proud of their mere existence. My kids worship their grandparents. At 2 years old, their grandparents are their idols. I hear from so many people how wonderful being a grandparent is, “it’s the icing on the cake”, “it’s all the gains, none of the pain”, “it’s like earning a paycheck for merely existing”. You get the point.
Now more than ever, we know how inactivity and unhealthy eating impacts our future quality of life. Carrying extra weight dramatically ages our bodies and minds. Inactivity gives raise to cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Our bodies are designed to be highly active and without exercise, they break down. This only accelerates as we age. Please be the kind of grandparent your grandchildren adore. Don’t rob yourself of the icing on the cake by eating too much cake! Take a good look at what your future holds and take control. It may never be too late for you but we all know how quickly children grow-up. If you don’t take action now, it will be too late for your children and your grandchildren to enjoy their grandparent's!
