Back in May, Sam and I both wrote about grandmothers as athletes in the context of an amazing marathon swim by Amy Appelhans Gubser. At the time, Sam’s son Miles told her “All your athletic achievements could be so much more impressive if I had a kid.”
I struggle to think of myself as an athlete, despite all the positive self-talk. It is getting harder now that I’m retired and we are living through a miserable wet summer that has me unmotivated to go outside. And now I am about to be a grandmother.
I’m thrilled, but also wondering what that will do to my self-image and the preconceptions of people around me.
Will I continue wanting to do my own fitness things or will I turn to a pile of granny goo who just wants to play with the baby whenever I can? How can I adapt what I enjoy doing to incorporate the little one? When I do those activities with a baby (or toddler or child, eventually) will I still be seen as an independent person or just an extension/caregiver playing along? Will it matter what other people think, or can I be comfortable in my own skin?
In other words, can I be a little bit like Amy Appelhans Gubser, even if I never do an amazing marathon swim?
Speaking as a grandmother of five (late start cyclist who has, since becoming a grandmother ridden across north America twice) I can say you have nothing to worry about! You will feel comfortable taking the kid to the park; you will be able to catch up faster (maybe even than the parents) when the toddler makes a move towards the street; you will happily kick the ball back and forth with the kindergartener; you will teach them to swim; you will occasionally think happily to yourself that you have never had to apologize for your age & the way it limits your movements.
Other people? If anything, they will be in awe of your strength – and appreciative that you are there for them when they want a little break.
Oh, and none of this is incompatible with being a “pile of granny goo.” We get to have both.
Congratulations on your imminent little arrival!