Guest Post: Granny Geek is in the house

Ahhh…  Blogging.    I haven’t done this in awhile!   There was a time when I was an avid blogger, posting to as many as 11 of my own blogs each day, in addition to guest writing on other blogs occasionally.  But then something happened that seemed to zap all of my time and energy and interest in blogging…..   My first grandchild was born!   And this would be a good time to Introduce myself before you start asking “who is this woman?”

Call me Granny Geek.   The majority of people in my field are young and male, but  I’m a grandmother who also happens to be a web developer/programmer.  So, how did that happen?

It seemed very sudden to me, but one day I looked around and my babies were grown up!  I got the empty nest syndrome and got bored really fast.   After considering my options of gardening, pottery class, fitness (nah!) and all those other hobbies lonely mothers look into when their beautiful babies grow up, it hit me that I really wanted to learn all about the interwebs and how to make it pretty.   I didn’t have a clue but I got online and studied, researched, and practiced.

They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but that isn’t true!  Before you know it I was building sites for money and blogs for fun.  I happily freelanced for a few years while my grown babies got a good start on their adult lives.    Then on the day I watched my grandson be delivered -  that day when I got to watch my daughter’s struggles in the delivery knowing this must be what my mother saw when I delivered my first -  that is the day I said, “Blogging what? What’s an Internet?”

Oh, I continued in my work as a web developer because…. money.  But my blogging hobby would be put on hold, because absolutely nothing else in the world mattered anymore except the breathtaking beauty of my grandson.  There was a new baby around to occupy all my free time.  Someone to occasionally fill the empty nest.  Someone to be amazed by as he learned how to walk and talk and everything else new that he did!  I think of grandparents as an extension of parents, or at least I think that’s the way it should be.  I was going to help in the well-being and development of this new child, and I wouldn’t make the same mistakes I think I made with my own children (admit it, we all make parenting mistakes).

He’s 4 now.  I could never be bored by him but I think he’s starting to realize that playing with kids is sometimes more fun than playing with Grandma.   So last week I found myself entertaining the thought of occasionally blogging again.  But what about?   Just then my grandson ran up to me and said “You’re my favorite grill!” (because it’s how he says girl) and I suddenly realized that I have SO MUCH TO SHARE about being a grandmother with anyone who will listen.   My friends here at Little Rock Mamas have kindly agreed to let me share my thoughts here, as a guest blogger, and some of the things you’ll see from me include:

• Advice if you care to read it.
• Recipes passed down by my grandmothers
• Tips tricks and home remedies
• Funny stories about grandchildren.
• Opinions…more than you’ll want.
• And maybe once in a blue moon you’ll actually see tech talk from me just because I can’t resist.

I leave you with an old Italian Proverb:  “If nothing is going well, call your grandmother.“