Trilby

In My Own Words

I am the custodial (young) grandmother of my 3 1/2 year old Grandson, Caleb. He has been living with his grandfather and I since July, 2008. His mother was also living with us until we moved to another part of the state. My husband is a writer and we chose to live in a special place in Maine that we have both dreamed of living in for many years. We are also the parents of five other children, and we have an infant granddughter and another grandchild expected to be born in early June. We have four daughters and one son. Caleb is our oldest grandchild and the son of our second daughter who is our second child. I am a retired Nurse Practitioner who worked in Neonatal Intensive Care for 30 odd years. I enjoyed my profession, however, was more than happy to accept early retirement in order to care for my grandson. His Mother is a drug addict and he has had a lot of turmoil, drama and instability in his short life. My husband and I consider ourselves deeply blessed to be in a position to be able to care for Caleb, we have a tremendous amount of fun with him and the great priviledge of seeing the world now through his eyes, especially as we are past the years of financial fear -although we all experience it at times- and impatience-ditto that. Caleb has been a bit of a challenge; but a great deal more of a miracle in our lives. Our daughter is ill, &I acknowledge Substance Abuse as a disease. However, I have learned and now feel, that in many cases the only TRUE victims of this disease are the children. We pray daily for her recovery and know that it is between her and her higher power. We do what we can for her, but it is a fine line between enabling and loving, and we must watch our behavior around that at all times. Therefore what we primarily do for her is to love, teach and keep her son safe from harm for as long as will be necessary.

Parents I'd Like to Meet

I have now got the priviledge of having almost daily contact with women anywhere from 5 to 20 years my junior who are now Moms of young children. I am amazed at how much things have really changed since I raised my initial five children, and grateful for all of their input and advice. I remember feeling as a new Mom that older women with experience raising children were whom I felt I should seek out, I no longer feel that way, as if it weren't for the younger Moms that I now talk with I don't know what I'd do at times. So, I am interested in meeting all Moms, at all ages and from all walks of life. One of the best things, I think, about being a Mom these days, is the perspective that has been gained regarding 'working' and bringing up baby. The Moms I now meet are taking time, signifigant amounts in some cases, off from their careers, with the absolute knowledge that they will return after they have given the quality that you all are smart enough to know that your children require to raising your kids, to their children now. I also love the fact that you guys can now telecommute. The creativity and flexibility that now exists between career and childraising, because of the respect that has been gained for women in general, is awesome, I AM awestruck. I love the conversations that I now participate in with Moms on Tuesday mornings at the library play group because they don't just talk about their kids, they talk about themselves and their families in relation to one another. That is just a fabulous gift and perspective that I know the world and today's children can only benefit from.