THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, October 4, 1994 TAG: 9410040023
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARCIA MANGUM, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 89 lines
THERE'S NOTHING LIKE a Nana. Who would've thought that having a 2-year-old, a newborn and four adults in a household could be fun, but Nana and Grandpa made it that way.
I had misgivings going in. When our first child was born, my husband and I agreed we wanted time alone with the child before the relatives came to visit. But when the second one was coming along, we were less certain.
Maybe it would be nice to have someone around to help look after 2-year-old Rosie as we adjusted to our new daughter, Anna. Maybe it would be nice to have someone help keep the house from falling into total disarray. Sounds like a job for Nana.
Maybe it would even be nice to have Grandpa come along, because there was plenty to do around the 70-year-old house we'd recently moved into.
The decision had to be made early, because getting Nana and Grandpa here involved buying plane tickets from Colorado. And it was a gamble. What if they came out early and the baby wasn't even born before they left? What if they came late and the adjustment period was over before they arrived?
Babies in my family have always arrived early, so we gambled on the early side, and Nana made a reservation for June 23, the date of the last full moon before my June 29
due date. Grandpa would follow a week later, and they'd stay until mid-July.
Luck was with us. Nana arrived before the baby, and within 10 minutes, had established a marvelous rapport with Rosie. The second morning of Nana's visit, Rosie came into Mom and Dad's bedroom as usual, looked around and asked ``Where's Nana?''
When we told her, she ran off to find Nana, without so much as a quick hello, much less a kiss, for her parents. We knew she'd be fine when we left her with Nana to go to the hospital.
By the time Anna arrived June 28, Rosie and Nana were fast friends. Mom and Dad couldn't begin to keep up with their pace. Rosie would help Nana do her exercises each morning, and from then on, it would be a race through the day from one story and toy to another.
No one could give a bath quite like Nana or brush teeth quite like Nana. And certainly no one could sit on the floor and play for endless hours like Nana. Even during the difficult times - coaxing Rosie to eat food she was less than thrilled with or convincing her it was time for bed - Nana had a way of making it seem like a game.
Nana even maintained her sense of humor when she tumbled off the front porch and into the bushes while playing ball with Rosie.
When Dad brought Nana and Rosie to the hospital to visit Anna and Mom, it was overwhelmingly wonderful - the kind of wonderful that makes a mom cry tears of joy. Rosie took it all in stride, hopping up on Mom's lap for hugs and snuggling in the big chair beside Anna and Dad or Anna and Nana.
``That's my sister,'' Rosie proclaimed proudly. And from Day 1, she's been nothing but the proud, caring Big Sister. Even in the hospital, she would tell us who could hold Anna and who couldn't, and she didn't want us to put her sister down and let her cry.
Now, three months later, when Anna cries, Rosie is still quick to say, ``Mom, Anna needs you.''
The two weeks following Anna's birth were blissful. Rosie couldn't have had more attention or more fun. Grandpa arrived two days after we came home from the hospital, doubling the attention heaped on Rosie, and the assistance we got around the house.
For Rosie, there were early morning walks with Nana and Grandpa, trips to Waterside, the zoo and The Children's Museum and even a night out to hear Dad's band play music.
For Mom and Dad, there were never any dishes to wash or laundry to tend to, and each day, we noticed new projects getting completed. There were the small but pleasant ones, like discovering that the drainboard really was white and that the 20 years of grime on the can opener could be scraped off. And there were the bigger ones, like putting a fan in the attic and a screen door on the front porch. All were appreciated beyond words.
Finally, the day came when Nana and Grandpa had to leave. We rose early to see them off, and there were a few wet eyes. I knew how much I'd miss them and how much I'd like for my daughters to be able to grow up closer to their grandparents.
Even now, whenever anyone cries, Rosie remembers that morning and says, ``Mom cried when Nana left.''
Having grandparents here helped us all make a smooth adjustment to the new baby in the family. But I hear it gets harder when the baby gets mobile and starts wanting Big Sister's toys.
Maybe then it'll be time for a visit to Colorado. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
MARCIA MANGUM
by CNB