GrandMOMocrat of the Year: Marian Robinson

Ok, I just have to stop and appreciate this woman for a minute. Ms. Marian Robinson is Michelle Obama's mother and mother-in-law to Senator Barack Obama. She's the one who gets the two Obama daughters off to school and picks them up and tucks them in at night when both Michelle and Barack are on the road campaigning. She, along with Mr. Robinson (now deceased), managed to raise two children who attended Princeton even though the Robinsons themselves never graduated from college.

I sometimes forget that like me, the Obamas have young children: theirs are a six year old and a nine year old. Major difference being, I can sit at home writing a thousand and one grant proposals for my work, and Senator Obama (with Mrs. Obama's help)? Oh, just out doing a little thing called RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT OF THE FREE WORLD.

I don't think you have to run for public office to get the difficulty of balancing work and life. As any parent knows, it's ALL ABOUT THE CHILDCARE. Aren't we MOMocrats figuring out what's for dinner at the same time as there's a work deadline of some kind, and then also trying to decide what should go into the birthday goodie bags and wondering how to get that last remaining item so the kid can complete his or her homework? (And then blogging about it somehow?)

Anyway, we all know how crucial it is to have a safety net--neighbors, relatives, friends, grandmas and grandpas--because inevitably one of the balls we juggle will fall. And I think it's remarkable how, since time began, some people are blessed to have a steel-spined grandma as the hub of their wheel. One who somehow raised up her own kids with a lot of starch, but seems to have softened with her grandkids.

The 8:30 bedtime? "That's ridiculous!" Robinson said. The TV-for-an-hour rule? "That's just not enough time," she said.
...
"I've heard [Michelle] say, 'Mom, what are you rolling your eyes at? You made us do the same thing,"' Robinson said. "I don't remember being that bad. It seems like she's just going overboard."

So here's to grandmas who help make things happen. What they have to offer is priceless in both senses of the word: lacking a measure of value in the public workplace that would do it justice; and something beyond measure: the wisdom, security, and love they provide that has no simple cash equivalent.

Cynematic's personal blog is P i l l o w b o o k. She's grateful for her mother and her mother-in-law, who take fabulous care of her son.

Comments

[debbie - i obsess]

Cyn, this post nails it. My mom means the world to me now, more than ever in my life, because of her care for my son. It really completes the circle on so many levels.

Thanks for your (as always) amazing thoughts spoken so eloquently.