Visiting Grandma

Yesterday I wanted to take my son over to see ‘Grandma’. My son is great with her. He enjoys seeing her and is perfectly willing to make a visit to her part of our Sunday routine. Things usually are better if I take him there than my wife. If she takes him to her mom’s, mom and grandma usually fight in front of him, and that is not good for anyone.

I called her yesterday after we were finished playing and wanted to come over for a few hours. She said she was not feeling well and did not want us to visit. While this has occurred at some times in the past, she truly enjoys seeing him and often cannot get enough time with him.

My wife thinks this was just grandma being depressed and not even caring about spending time with her grandson. I do not know if this is the case. She claimed she had a headache and was not up for company. My wife thinks it might have been better if we just went over there, and perhaps she is right, but at this point her mom seems to prefer it if we call first.

When my wife talked with her mom later in the day she said her mom did not sound too bad. Hopefully it is not a battle with depression that her mom is fighting right now. In fact, much to my surprise, my wife said after she picks up our son from camp she thought she might just take him over to see her. She indicated that she did not like that idea but thought it might be good for the two of them. I hope so.

I think what is important when caring for a parent is to make sure there are a number of visits and to get the whole family involved. As I stated above, just about every Sunday since my wife’s mother has been here, I have taken my son to see his grandmother. I wish there were more people here that could also visit. I truly think it would make a tremendous difference.