IN LIFE, I have had so many labels, from being a daughter, a teacher, a wife, a mother and recently a pensioner. Each time I change my role, I pine for the one that has gone. There I was, planning my retirement, when my eldest daughter announced that she was pregnant. Since the birth of my first grandson, I have earned a new title of ‘Grandma’. This new role has changed my life and my relationship with my daughter. I feel needed again and it’s a great feeling. A year later my youngest daughter joined the group when her own daughter was born. What more could I ask for?
Then the website grannynet.co.uk was conceived. It is the brainchild of my youngest daughter who has set up a support website for grandparents. My involvement is mainly talking things through and floating ideas about where to go next. Since its launch in February 2008, I have been interviewed by the national papers, talked to a wide variety of grandparents at the Olympia Retirement show, while discovering that I am able to empathise with a wide range of people and that my daughter and I make a great team. There is a need out there for us grandparents to have a voice and this website has given us the tool. Since then we have been on the BBC World Service to talk to other grandparents around the world. The gentle voice of Eveline talking about her life in South Africa now that whole generations of parents have been wiped our by Aids will haunt me for a long time.
I feel so privileged to be part of the new group of grandparents who still have so much to give, and have begun to embrace the technological world of search engines and forums in order to support, love and understand their children and grandchildren. Long may we continue to adapt and learn. I love my new role as a grandparent and advisor to the website. I can’t wait to see what next year will bring.
Lorna Edwards is co-founder of Grannynet.co.uk