How can my oldest child be 27?

Twenty seven years ago I had my first child. Twenty seven years? How is that even possible?

I remember being 27 myself. It doesn't seem that long ago and yet now my son Joe is that age. 27? That is nearly 30. If my baby boy is nearly 30 then I must be pushing 50! Half a century! How has that come around so fast? Surely 1988 wasn't that long ago?

I remember becoming a mum to Joe like it was yesterday. A terrified teenager. A baby that changed everything for the better. We embarked on an adventure together. Just me and him. The two of us. Mother and son against the world. We did OK!

Time kept creeping on. Birthdays were celebrated, years passed by.

Along the way, our lives were blessed with the arrival of our knight in shining armour, Ian who made everything complete, safe, secure and happier than we could ever have imagined, and with four further beautiful babies to add to the brood. Our little tiny family of two swelled to become a family of seven. A fabulous, loud, proud, chaotic, slightly bonkers and absolutely perfect family.

Tick tock. Time continued to pass. My babies grew up under my watchful eye, surrounded by my constant love. Little boys grow into men. They get tall, they start to shave, they get a job, they spread their wings.

Now my son has his own life. A life he has created for himself. A life that makes me so proud of him. He is a wonderful daddy to my gorgeous grandson Ted. I'm not just mum anymore - I'm Nana Wendy now too. Joe gave me that gift.

We've grown older alongside each other for 27 years. Things have changed but the love I felt for that tiny baby I delivered all those years ago has not diminished one little bit. He's always my baby boy - but my baby boy is now a man. A 27 year old man. I'm a much older woman than I was 27 years ago, but my life has been made richer every single day since becoming a mother. 27 years of unconditional love has made me who I am today. Shaped me into someone I am proud to be. And it all started with the birth of my son. My son who is 27 today.

 Happy birthday son xxx

The Evolution of Nana Wendy

If I'm honest, I've never been much of a baby person. Yes I admit, cuddling a newborn baby is a precious experience and they do smell delicious, but they also seem so fragile and they basically sleep for most of the time. If they are not sleeping, they are feeding or pooping or crying. There may be a few magical moments in between but mostly a little baby does what little babies do 24/7. I've always preferred the toddler stage. Toddlers are feisty, interactive, robust, cheeky and full of fun. They can chatter to you, understand you and they choose if they want to spend their time with you or not! You get to see their developing personalities and build a genuine relationship with them, where love and trust will be nurtured and grown into something genuine and beautiful.

My grandson Ted is getting close to his third birthday. He is now at the age where I can really enjoy him as a little person in his own right, and not just as an extension of his mum and dad. As a baby, I saw him as my son's child, delighting in the new role my son Joe was embarking on, which filled me with such immense pride. My own connection with Ted was through Joe, and amazing as that was, I felt slightly on the periphery, looking in on this miracle unfolding in my son's life. We live too far away to have been able to be a permanent feature in Ted's early days, so my grandparenting was done remotely rather than being hands on. Every time we visited, I'd look for a sign that he remembered me or knew who I was, forever hoping that the family bond would grow even in my absence.

I spent this weekend with my son Joe, his fiance Jade and my grandson Ted. We visited Alton Towers and had a fab time. Our favourite ride was the River Rapids, with all us in one of the round boats getting splashed and squirted as we whizzed through the water. It was so much fun watching Ted experience these things for the first time. On the Sunday morning I was woken up by Freddy and Ted bashing me with foam swords (little monkeys were being egged on by Joe of course!). Then at lunchtime, we all sat around the table to enjoy a family roast dinner together.

These are the days I have been waiting for, ever since the day I found out that I was going to be a gran. Ted is full on, energetic, boisterous and funny. He makes me laugh with his antics and leaves a trail of toddler-made destruction in his wake as he runs around, a little boy on a mission to explore, learn and play. He is everything I imagined and hoped my grandson could be. He may look just like his mum, but his personality is so much like his dad's in so many ways!

When he squeezes his chubby little hand into mine so we can walk along together, or when his little voice calls me Nana Wendy or he calls Ian 'Guitar Grandad', or when he says 'I love you', I just melt. He knows exactly who we all are. He enjoys being with us and his laughter and smiles are infectious. Ted told me stories, played lots of fighting games with his Daddy and his Uncle Freddy, enjoyed dressing up and having his face painted as a skeleton and generally made himself completely at home with us. He is comfortable here and he understands that we are family and we love him. This is how I dreamed grantparenthood would be and for Ted, he now knows and understands his place in our family, and realises just how adored he is.

I am honoured to be his Nana Wendy.

Help! I'm a Granny and Galaxy Quick Reads - Book Reviews

Help! I'm a Granny

Two years ago, I made the generation leap and became a granny to my adorable little grandson Ted,  my eldest son Joe's little boy.  Becoming a granny was in equal measure quite a shock (I was only 43 and it seemed like only yesterday that Joe was being peeled off of my legs by his infant school teacher because he didn't want to leave my side) and an absolute joy!  Seeing my own little boy (OK 26 isn't that little, but he'll always be my baby) becoming a father and making a life of his own in the big wide world, really puts the passing of time into perspective.  Ted's arrival into our family came when my own youngest child Freddy was only 3 years old, so I was juggling being a mum to my own little one with becoming a granny.  So I was never going to be the old school Nana, sat in her rocking chair knitting baby blankets for my grandbabies.  Instead, the generation gap blurred and we all muck in together in our big, crazy and exceptionally wonderful extended family that is filled with love and laughter!

Finding out that you are going to be a grandparent and making that mental transition into your new role can seem a bit daunting at times. Knowing how best to be supportive and offer advice without interfering can see you walking a fine line at times.  Defining your role, especially when there is another Nana on the scene, who in our case lives in the same town as my son, his fiance and Ted, who gets to see them much more than I do as I live 2 hours away, can take some soul searching. Wanting to be more involved is difficult when distance is part of the equation. But I know that the part I am playing in my grandson's life is every bit as valuable, and the relationship I have with Ted is becoming more and more rewarding as he gets older.  Having Ted and Freddy close in age gives me a special bond with my future daughter-in-law, as we can relate to being mummies together.

For anyone else going through the same experience and becoming a first time granny, the book Help! I'm a Granny may prove an invaluable companion.  Written by newspaper columist and agony aunt Flic Everett, it is a comprehensive guide to becoming and being a gran, written in a friendly, light hearted and informal way.  It's like sharing your worries, your guilt and your jealousy with a friend. The real life stories make it feel very personal.

It is laid out in easy to navigate sections with practical lists, true stories, quizzes and instructions. Some of the chapters did seem a little like teaching your granny to suck eggs, but I am still a mum to a little one so haven't forgotten how to feed a baby, tackle a tantrum or pack a changing bag.  But if it has been years since you were a hands on mummy, the bitesize advice may prove invaluable.  There is also a dummy's guide to technology that own my mum would find really useful, explaining the pros and cons of social media and apps for staying in touch.

The quizzes are quite fun.  It turns out I'm a 'Cool Gran' and a 'Rebel Granny'...I'll totally take that!

Help! I'm a Granny would make a great gift for any soon to be grandparents or would make a useful, easy reading handbook for yourself when you find yourself about to be a gran. It makes you feel like you are not alone and gives you some different perspectives on the emotions, responsibilities and joys of being a granny!

Hardback £9.99
Publication date: February 19th 2015


Galaxy Quick Reads

If you enjoy reading but are struggling to find the time to get stuck into a novel, then check out the new Galaxy Quick Reads.  Written by best selling authors, they are like their real books, but shorter. They are also excellent introductions into reading, for adults who find the prospect of tackling a full length book intimidating.

The titles are:

Dead Man Talking - Roddy Doyle

Paris for Two One - Jojo Moyes

Red for Revenge -Fanny Blake

Pictures or it Didn't Happen - Sophie Hannah

Out Of The Dark - Adéle Geras

Street Can Bob - James Bowen

Galaxy Quick Reads are bite-sized books written by best-selling authors which cost only £1. They are available from bookshops, supermarkets and online or can be borrowed from libraries across the country. They are also available as eBooks across all major eBook platforms. For more information visit www.quickreads.org.uk.