Guest Columnist

I asked my mom to write a guest column on my blog for what it means to be a grandmother. Here ya go:
Tribute to a New Mom
So how do you start a blog? Dear Blog Friends? Hey, anyone listening? This blog stuff is totally new to me!


Soon after Matthew was born and I became a grandmother, Pam asked me to write an entry for her blog. I think she wanted me to capture my feelings of finally being a grandparent and how wonderful my grandson, Matthew, was. Well, it’s fantastic being Matthew’s Gran. His smile lights up my heart, and I look forward to years of teaching, doing, and loving with him. He was worth the wait!

I could go on and on about the best grandson in the world, but with Mother’s Day just around the corner, my thoughts are on Matthew’s mom. How wonderful to see your daughter become a mother. Suddenly Pam and I share in a special sorority of all women who have been blessed with children.

Her pregnancy announcement took me back 32 years ago when I had my first child, Pam’s older brother Tim. We were in Pennsylvania with no family near to help out. Family was unavailable to come for several months, so, it became Tim, Mommy, and Daddy. Friends helped some, but most of my friends were working, and I was thrust into a life with few daytime friends and activities. When Pam came along five years later, we were again the foursome with little outside help. So, when Pam came home from the hospital, I pledged to help her as much as she needed.

What a joy it was to spend those first few weeks with Pam and Matthew almost every weekday! Because we have both been working women, spending time over coffee and watching Ellen every day at 3 o’clock was a real treat. I could so identify with Pam’s up and down moods, tiredness, extreme happiness, and unsettling inexperience during the first month. One special moment came as I was standing beside Matthew’s Pack-and-Play watching him sleep. I hugged Pam as she walked by, and we both began to cry. “It’s so overwhelming,” she tearfully said. “I know. Oh, I do know,” I whispered back to her. In that moment, I believe we shared a special bond—motherhood.

Now, Matthew has celebrated his 6-month birthday; Pam has returned to work three days a week; and I am eager to heal completely from my double knee replacement surgery so that I can get back to my grandmother fun. When I look at Pam now, I see joy, peace, calm, and confidence. Pam and David have centered their lives and parenting on God. They don’t just do a Sunday morning here and there and then pray when something really stressful comes along. They walk the walk every day. This is the secret ingredient to being a good parent—stay in constant contact with your Heavenly Father. Parenting will draw you to your knees in humble prayer!

Pam’s joy when she is with Matthew amazes me—huge smiles and silly laughter as if she and Matthew were the only two in the room. He’s taken his cues from her and just lights up a room with his own smile.

Pam is at peace with herself and the world. Motherhood has brought out the best in her, and I thank God for how He has used Matthew to shape Pam into the woman He wants her to be. I believe Matthew senses her peace and has become a really good-natured kid, except when he’s teething.

Like her mom, Pam in the past would go up and down on the mood chart, somewhat like the read-out on a heart monitor. Pam has learned as a young adult who she is in Christ as a wife and mother. Her calmness now is amazing. God can do such awesome things!

Finally, I see great confidence when I watch Pam. How in six months did she learn to be such a good mother? Jeremiah 17:7 answers that question: “But blessed is the man/woman who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him.”

Pam, I am amazed, thrilled, delighted, and proud of you and the mother you are becoming. Happy First Mother’s Day! I love you!

Mom