My Precious Gems: A Grandmother's Love Story

In February, we announced -- THE WRITE HOUR: A Story Writing Contest for Members of the Silver Talkies Club. A big round of applause to our members Preeta, Geetha Prasanna & Ramana Sista for their wonderful and heart-winning entries that were the Three Best Entries. Here's Geetha's story.

Our theme:  The Different Loves- Love can have different forms, bonds and adaptations. 

Preeta, Geetha and Ramana's stories reflect those special loves. Enjoy the read.

MY PRECIOUS GEMS by Geetha Prasanna

It was the coldest day in Mumbai after 65 years. February 7th, 2008. The temperature was eight degrees in the city. We rushed to the hospital to welcome the bundle of joy, my daughter's baby, who had arrived at Breach Candy Hospital. The cold vanished, and we were filled with a profound sense of warmth and joy as we held the little baby girl; we were proud grandparents. What followed was indescribable. 

"What kind of love is this?" I thought to myself. I knew the love I felt when I held my own daughter. However, then my mind and body were exhausted. I then knew this was "irresponsible love". Just enjoy her. No stress at all.

Every milestone of hers, every little utterance, made us laugh and clap with joy. I saw my husband becoming a child himself to play with her. As a busy young mother, I hardly had time for my own babies. Yet, this was such a gift and so precious.

I felt awful and emotional when my husband retired and we shifted to Bangalore. But, funnily enough, I didn't cry when my daughter left for her husband's house. On the contrary, I was happy for her, perhaps! The little toddler had stolen our hearts. She is now a pretty fifteen-year-old teenager.

So, fourteen years later, another miracle occurred. My son and his wife had a baby girl in April 2022 in Atlanta in the US. The emotions are the same. The distance is huge. Thanks to technology, we see her often via video calls. A simple thing like her clapping while I sing a bhajan, fills my heart with joy. My favourite pastime is to view her videos innumerable times. She is adorable, and my daughter-in-law's mother and I think she is exceptionally bright. Perhaps a bit biased.

Since I am a speech and language therapist, I carefully monitor the baby's speech patterns, quietly researching to check when she babbles and waiting to hear her first word emerge.

Grandmothers are known to enhance their grandchildren's knowledge of mythology and tell them moral stories. So, since she will grow up in the US, I will make sure that I teach her all the wonderful Indian stories and fables that we grew up with. 

I still remember how thrilled the elder one in Mumbai was when we gladly flew down to be part of Grandparents' Day celebrations. She proudly showed us off to her teachers, and we, in turn, enjoyed listening to all the praise they showered on her.

Children are definitely evolving to be much brighter than we were. Her ability to paint portraits and use any medium to produce wonderful works of art astounds me.

Discipline and grandparents! That's a very sensitive issue. However much I step back, I remind her that talking back is wrong. I am unable to play the popularity game. However, it will pay off in the long run. My clever husband never disciplines! He is always Santa Claus and a kind old Grandpa. 

I am very grateful to my children that, unlike most working couples, they did not expect us to babysit their offspring. Instead, both mothers took a sabbatical. It's the most stressful job for older persons to monitor a child's food, sleep and safety constantly. So many grandparents are terrified for the kids' safety. 

Never interfering in how they are being brought up requires a lot of self-control. I am amazed that I am able to. My children are intelligent and know when to draw the line before their single child gets spoilt. A tough proposition in today's world. 

We didn't have to face this terrible problem of preventing kids from always using devices and barely reading. Instead, our kids played outdoor games. It's a great challenge for today's parents of Gen Z kids. 

My elder grandchild is obsessed with wildlife photography, and our safaris together in jungles are most thrilling. I remember her excitement when she saw Saaya, the black panther, deep in the Kabini forest. I am amazed to see her waking up at 5 am for safaris at Jim Corbett and Bandhavgarh national parks. She takes fantastic wildlife pictures and entertains me with all her jungle tales. 

She is quite amused that I am not the traditional grandmother. She enjoys getting into the pool with me to do aqua aerobics, do a Bollywood dance with me or play a good game of table tennis. She encourages me to dress trendily and teaches me to do digital painting. There's so much to learn from her. 

Now her friends are very important in her life, and all elders are bound to take a back seat, but that's about teenage life. I always pray that she makes the right choices. 

She introduced me to the Avengers and told me she fancies Loki, the Norse God. So I painted a portrait of Loki for her. She thinks I am an excellent dancer, and her grandpa is an outstanding singer. It feels good to be praised by the little ones.

Seeing my son as a good father taking care of the baby and my daughter-in-law, I am happy that, at last, there is equality in the tasks of raising kids. However, my husband always helped and was a role model for my son. I know the little one will surely be the apple of his eye!

I am sure that every grandparent shares the same emotions. Some of them are lucky to be living with them too. I am glad that at least one of them is in India. I know will be increasingly difficult to meet the one abroad at some point, but I hope they come to India often. 

I am filled with gratitude each day for my two grandchildren.

A grandchild fills the space in your heart to such an extent that I am counting the days to fly to Atlanta to celebrate the second one's first birthday. 

In conclusion, my husband and I found that gold pot at the end of the rainbow. 

Special words from our judge author Meera Rajagopalan:  Thank you for this! It is such a lovely piece, and so much from the heart. The part about the birth of the baby, the cold outside and the warmth inside is really evocative. I also like that you talk about being a different kind of grandmother. 

Please share your feedback in the comment box below. 

Here are the other two winning stories. 

Loki: The biggest love of my life

The Love & Dignity of Labour

Cover image: Pixabay

Congratulations to our winners, and keep writing!