THE NEW GRANDMOTHER RULES: NAMING GRANDMA

There’s something about the word “grandmother.” It’s…. it’s so old sounding. That’s probably the reason so many women of the Baby Boomer generation are looking for alternatives. There are over 77.6 million baby boomers heading toward (or already in) grandparenthood. Half of these Grand Boomers are women. And I’ll bet not many of them are of them are ready to don the granny glasses, plop down on a rocker on the front porch in a rock and start knitting. They’re too busy with work, family and a 1,001 other activities.

Baby Boomers are reinventing aging according to the Wall Street Journal. Traditional names like Grandma and even Bubbe don’t fit. It’s about the image Grand Boomers have of themselves. And it's definitely not one about getting older.

Don’t get me wrong. I embrace grandmotherhood. But like so many of my Grand Boomer sisters, the traditional, grandmotherly names are just not me. The moment my son and daughter-in-law told me I was going to be a grandmother, I was ready with a name. Grammi (okay, it’s kind of traditional, but in a cute sort of way). The name came from my favorite animated grandmother, the matriarch of the Gummi Bears (what can I say, it was result of working a Disney for too long). Grammi was spunky, could cook up a mean batch of Gummijuice and still could mix it up with the villain, Duke Igthorn, when needed.

Even though we began using the name “Grammi” while my granddaughter was still in the womb, it didn’t matter. The girl had other ideas. By the time she was two, she hadn't used any word to identify me, much less Grammi. Not that I didn’t try. It was Grammi this, Grammi that. Then one day she spoke! Mimi! Close. Gram-mi. Mi. Mimi. Okay, it works. And it's cute.

And Mimi it's been ever since. So the moral of the story is, no matter how hard you try to come up with just the right grandmother name, it ultimately is up to the child. And sometimes, that makes it all the sweeter.

How about a book? Funny or sentimental, she'll love that you were thinking about her.

In the end, it doesn't matter what a grandchild calls you, Granny or Tickles, Bube or just plain old Grandma. It's the bond you develop and the love you share. Most importantly, it's about the moments you want them to remember--your granddaughter's first theater experience watching the Nutcracker, your grandson teach you to rollerskate at the beach, or just a rainy afternoon curled up on the sofa with your granddaughter reading a favorite book

Enjoy every moment, Grandma!

They count, too! And a child can never have too many grandmothers. Of course, this revolves around a whole lot of family dynamics, but the best course of action is to let the kids know it’s okay to give the step-grandmother her own special nickname. Of course, it’ll probably be a little different, but what the heck. The more the merrier.