The Cost of Being a Grandparent

If you have more than one grandchild let me warn you about something. Grandchild #2 is taking note of everything you do for Grandchild #1! Remember that prior to Tigger's fifth birthday I was surprised to discover that she expected us to buy her "a bike" for her birthday because we had done so for her older sister Polly's fifth birthday? Read that one here if you need the reminder. And also, remember that we did so because she was correct. We really had bought Polly a bicycle bike for her fifth birthday and felt that buying one for each successive grandchild on that milestone birthday is well worth the cost.

Well, the accounts have been called into question again! Miss Tigger must be keeping copious note of my every expenditure on her older sister's behalf whereas I had no clue another debt was due.

Last week it was the loss of her first baby tooth that sparked another one of those "Gram did such-and-such for Polly so of course she will do the same for me" conversations. Thankfully, she said this to her mother so that Karen could deliver the message thereby making me look magnanimous when I said to Tigger the next time I saw her, "Oh! You've lost your first baby tooth. How exciting! Let me get you a dollar." Smiles all around. I'm not sure which smile was bigger, the one with the gap left by the missing baby tooth or mine borne out of a sense of relief.

This time it only cost me a dollar to satisfy my debt but I don't even remember giving Polly one when she lost her first baby tooth. I suspect there could be several such events of sufficient magnitude for me to need more than my faulty memory and Tigger's messages relayed through her mother in order to keep proper accounts. After all I'd hate to be told on Tigger's 16th birthday that I'm obligated to buy her first car! Okay, I'm kidding, but I think I'll start keeping a list and reconciling it. Like bank accounts, not keeping track could prove costly, and I'm talking about a precious grandchild's esteem account and not the expense of a few dollars! And we have three more grandchildren younger than Miss Tigger who are or will be keeping accounts.

This weekend for the small cost of $1 I received a gorgeous gappy grin from a granddaughter who needed to know that she is loved as much as the one who came before her. It is probably one of the best bargains a dollar has ever bought me.