Grandparents Don’t Get to Choose

One of the greatest pleasures of life is having the opportunity to be grandparents. Since my son and his wife told us they were going to have a baby, we have been on cloud nine. When they came over to our house one evening to tell us, we really didn’t expect any news like we were told. In fact, all we thought was that they just came for a visit.

Sitting down at the kitchen table, my wife was presented with what looked like a gift bag. She was surprised knowing that it wasn’t her birthday, nor was it mother’s day, nor was it an anniversary of any kind. But, what she found at the bottom of the gift bag made her sit back with her mouth open and only a few words came out. I wondered what had shocked her.

Those words she spoke were loosely translated to mean, “Oh my goodness”, repeated over and over again. I didn’t have a clue what she was referring to until I saw that she was holding a pregnancy test in her hand. It took me a few seconds to clue in but once I did I then knew why my wife sputtered those words. My daughter-in-law was pregnant.

The first thing I thought of was the delight of having a new grandson to play with, to have a grandchild that would allow me to buy all those great little toys, build a swing set, and finally have an excuse to purchase some model train gear that I wanted. But, that wasn’t necessarily what my daughter-in-law had in mind.

Not only did I jump the gun in wishing for a grandson (a granddaughter is OK too), I apparently jumped the gun in even thinking that I could choose my own nickname as a grandparent. It seems that my nickname had already been chosen. And, while I objected, I never had a chance to even suggest a few grandfather nicknames. That was not the case with my wife though. She knew what she wanted as a nickname and she wouldn’t hear anything different. I guess I know who has the power around here and who doesn’t.

I was unceremoniously given the nickname “Grampy”; no opportunity to choose let alone object. Somehow, I must look like, or act like a “Grampy”. My wife, on the other hand, had her nickname chosen in her own mind and announced to all that she would be referred to as “Nanna”. Oh well, I guess I can’t have everything.

The long and short of it is this; being a grandparent no matter what nickname you are given, or what nickname you prefer, the little guy or girl will certainly have their own special name for “Grampy” and “Nanna”, and it really doesn’t matter.

But, I did really want to choose my own nickname!!

Looking for special nicknames for grandparents, or articles, and poems visit Nicknames for Grandmothers.