Full-Time Grandma

There were several possibilities for the title of this post but full-time Grandma about sums up all the others. I was thinking about "Gotta Stick To The Schedule" or "Did I Eat Breakfast Or Lunch Today?" or "I'm So Sorry I Broke Your Kid" or "I Took Wednesday Night's Shower On Thursday Afternoon" or "How Come I Have Pureed Carrots On My Shirt When I Ate A Sandwich" but they all sounded more appropriate as titles for country western songs.

For anyone who doesn't know, we are taking care of Cyrus here at home while Shirin is doing an externship at the specialist/emergency animal hospital in Charlotte for three weeks. I took three weeks off of work (which is unheard of) and Saeed only sees the occasional patient during summer break so we're both here. I feel that we know Cyrus pretty well since we see him on a regular visiting basis, but taking care of him and all that involves has never previously fallen on our shoulders. Each of us, even one year olds, have little quirks that you need to know for the day to run smoothly.

My trial by fire began on Tuesday when Shirin left for her first day at the clinic and left us with a lovely but feverish little boy. Tuesday night was rough but with a bit of Tylenol from Grandma and a lot of love from his patient mommy he made it through the night. Shirin dragged herself out of bed with a smile on her face and left for the clinic. Wednesday he was definitely better but still a little out of sorts and that night she had to get up with him twice, unusual for a baby that sleeps through the night. Today the little bubsy did great: two long naps and to bed on time this evening, so hopefully he'll let his mommy get a full night's rest... Grandma too.

And me? I am enjoying this little amazing creature who looks like both Shirin and Gabriel. He already seems to have a wonderful sense of humor and like any kid wants to play, PLAY, PLAY! I have learned, however, that sticking to the schedule his mommy gave me is essential. I thought I could tweek it a bit to accomodate her getting home late but in retrospect that wasn't such a good idea. Cyrus is like a Swiss watch and there isn't a lot of wiggle room so, I gotta stick to the schedule.

The first couple of days were a bit exhausting for me. I'm used to having more control over my activities but those two days consisted of calming a fretful baby, fixing meals, cleaning up constantly and doing load after load of laundry. So did I eat breakfast or lunch those days? Nope, but I did today :-) After such a good day with Cyrus on his schedule, feeling well, and the laundry caught up, I feel like a woman back in charge of her life. Today I ate breakfast AND lunch - yay!

Today Cyrus and I were on a nature stroll in our driveway. This was after I carried him through the yard on my hip showing him all the beautiful leaves and flowers. He was carrying a stone in one hand and bent down to pick up a big green leaf with the other hand and tipped right over onto his forhead. Ouch! He only cried for about 5 or 10 seconds but I could tell he was going to have a pretty big contusion. He let me wash it carefully and was much less worried about it than I was; he just wanted to play. Later I cleaned it again with hydrogen peroxide and put some triple antibiotic ointment on it and he was just fine with all that. It doesn't seem to hurt him but I feel terrible. When I spoke with Shirin on the phone I told her I'm sorry, I just broke your kid, but she said not to worry about it. Apparently they break their kid all the time. Whew!

Last night I was so tired that I actually couldn't take a shower before bedtime and it was during Cyrus' afternoon nap today before I could hop in the shower. Boy did it feel good! I'm sure the folks I walked past in the store later this afternoon were also glad that I'd finally managed to take Wednesday's shower on Thursday afternoon.

Obi has learned to sit under Cyrus' chair during meals. He's gotten some of the most amazing food donations from Cyrus over the past few days. Obi and Cyrus are both excellent eaters and will eat almost anything. I also am a good eater but typically turn away "Carrots and Tomatoes" out of little jars. My shirt, however, is more like Obi and eagerly accepts any flying morsel. I've put three T-shirts in the laundry hamper today alone. My new goal is to make it through the day with the same shirt at the end of the day that I put on that morning. I may be aiming too high. Thank God my sister sends me a new T-shirt every time she travels to a new place.

So, I'm having a ball. With enough sleep (what's that!?) I feel pretty strong and resilient and am fortunate that I can enjoy my grandchild on such an active level. The word "grandma" still sounds like an old woman in a rocking chair with a gray bun on her head; I don't feel like that. One look at how Cyrus runs me around the house, jumps on me, wants me to chase him, lift him up, carry him around, tells me I can still handle the ball of nonstop energy. He may never remember these days, but I most definitely will.

Hopefully I'll be able to put up some pictures and video in the next day or two, but that means waiting for another nap time break when I don't need a shower or lunch. First things first; gotta keep grammy going!