Connie Hawkins, published author, teacher and motivational speaker. Contact Connie at authorconnielhawkins.com

Fans and friends have suggested I create a blog page to share my thoughts and various writings from time to time. You ask...I aim to please!

November 16, 2009

Everyone asks me how it is that I became a writer. (OK, not everyone asks but some people do ask). I never quite know how to answer such a question. I guess I was born a writer. I've always been...I know no other way of life. I remember Mom telling me "boil down and do your homework, boil down and write that essay."

I Never quite understood that statement. For me it was harder to boil down (because I didn't know what it meant, then it was/is to write. To me writing is as big of an adventure as reading. Put a pen in my hand and it takes me where I want to go. There is a sort of magic in the written word; I hope over the course of the next few weeks to bring some of my magic, through the use of the written word, to you...so, climb aboard the merry-go-round with me -- let's take a ride!

On Becoming a Grandma!

It’s been a long wait, but I’m finally a grandmother and I’m loving it! Little J, (short for Jeremiah) will be 8 months old on November 30th. What can I say he’s absolutely adorable and smart, too. I discovered that when a baby is born a grandma is made. This is what I have learned so far about being a grandma:

1) I’ve turned into my mother! I am now ‘Grandma’.

2) It’s wonderful to be a mom but it’s even more wonderful to be a grandma because it's all play.

3) Grandma’s get to spoil and pamper. We can feed the little ones full of sugar and then send them home! But of course, I would never do that.

4) Grandma's can watch them spit up and smile.

5) We can listen to them make those little ‘grunting’ noises and quickly hand them back to Daddy.

6) We don’t have to worry about grouchy, fussy and teething. We just have to love unconditionally with no strings attached.

7) It only takes a moment when that little finger curls around yours for you to realize you are madly in love (again).

8) A new baby is a new beginning. It makes you realize the importance of past generations, the value of family history. You suddenly appreciate your own grandparents and the things you learned from them and you are anxious to past down those same stories to your grandchildren.

9) Having a new baby to think about makes you realize you aren’t too old to dream and hope; suddenly you have dreams and hopes that hopefully you will get to share with your grandchildren.

10) I’m still learning the difference between a smile and gas – but I’m getting there.

Some grandma’s will tell you that having grandchildren makes you feel young again – I think it depends on just how young a grandmother you are. I’m in my 60s’s and already realizing that spending more than an hour at a time with grandchildren quickly ages you. But at the same time I also realize that a home without a couple of grandma’s in it isn’t all that much fun.

Little J is a lucky lad, he has Grandma Connie and his Nana and we are all going to have so much fun Carl Sandburg one of my favorite poets wrote that, “A baby is God’s opinion that the world should go on.” I truly believe it. Grandchildren also mean that God’s not done with us yet. We still have lots to do! We have grandchildren to love! Yep, grandchildren are a great comfort in your old age and they help you reach it faster, too! Tomorrow's my day with Little J -- can't wait!

(You can find Connie's books online through Barnes & Noble, on Amazon.com, or order directly from the author by contacting her at PO Box 1171, Bay City, MI 48706.)