FULL OF WISDOM
The great-grandmother
diane miLLin, 84, is a mother of two, grandmother of four, and greatgrandmother to baby elvie and her big brother reid, age two. diane, a widow, lives with her daughter Sally in epsom, Surrey.
I’d only just left Fulham to live with sally, her husband and daughters, Megan and Reanna, when Megan announced she was having a baby. It was a shock
– I certainly wasn’t expecting to be a great-grandmother as soon as I arrived!
I saw her son Reid in the hospital a few hours after he was born. It was absolutely unbelievable. I cried. We all cried. and two years on, Elvie was born.
I never thought I’d have greatgrandchildren – I’m the only one of my friends who has. I lost my own first baby when she was four days old – she had a cerebral haemorrhage and doctors told me that I wouldn’t be able to have more children. I did go on to have a son and a daughter, and loved motherhood.
When sally started trying for a family of her own, it took her six years. We didn’t have our children particularly young so I never thought I’d see the next generation.
Megan and her family live about half an hour away now but they come over a lot. the door to my annexe in the house is always open. We didn’t know what the children should call me, then someone suggested “GG”. I thought it was a horse’s name but now I absolutely love it. Reid runs into the annexe shouting, “Gee Gee!” It sounds French!
It’s definitely different with greatgrandchildren. you have more patience, more time to relax, rather than be worrying, “am I doing this right?” you just enjoy their company and have fun. Even with grandchildren, you worry a bit about what stage they’re at, what they’re doing right and wrong, and how your children are coping with parenthood. I have to restrict myself with Reid and Elvie because I could spoil them rotten. When you get to this stage in life, you know how precious time is. you just enjoy it. >>
“It’s definitely different with greatgrandchildren. You have more patience and more time to relax. You just enjoy their company”