Grandmother’s “baby”: Oh! La la! You have a chance to be a saint here.
“Mum – I know you’re over the moon for your grand-baby.” You are a great-grandmother. Trust me here: Calling the baby “my baby” is, I guess, getting under the skin of siblings. They didn’t say anything to me, I just call what I see. And I guess they didn’t tell you anything I’m sure because they know how awesome you are and don’t want to sound mean. But put a “big-” in it, or go to Pookie, or something like that.
You’re just in a good position to say this one for the team.
By the way, to say that “her baby” is at work is hilarious.
Re: Grandma’s “Baby”: My mother-in-law called my daughter – the first grandchild on both sides of the family – “Nana’s baby”. As in, she repeated the words “Nana’s baby” endlessly in a craziness-inducing baby talk loop every time she visited us for the first three months of my daughter’s life. My husband, bless his heart, asked him to stop. And bless her too, for she has stopped.
Beautiful girl: And bless you for this ray of hope.
Dear Carolyn: My mother was recently diagnosed with dementia. Now that she’s taken care of by a doctor, I really have a hard time with something: She refuses anything related to personal care, like washing or cutting her hair, or cutting her nails, etc. It is not necessary, but I think they are more than strictly cosmetic. She is also starting to look rather strange.
At the same time, I try to respect his continued autonomy and his refusals have been going on for weeks. How should I handle this?
Fight: Your life with your mother is going to include a lot of changes like this, and there is a whole community that has seen it before and helped others to react, to adapt, to accept. Please find a caregiver / family member resource that meets your needs – you can ask the doctor who diagnosed your mother, or office staff, if there is a resource coordinator – or just your driving force. local research at a pinch. Line up the source (s) of information and support now, while you have just one or two questions, so they’re comfortably handy when new things arise.
Good for you to be there for your mom.
Hey, Carolyn! When I told a coworker that food is kind of my “thing” – I write a blog about food and baking, and yes I love food – she said, “Eat for a living, not live to eat ”. Can I tell her to kiss my big Irish peach?
A feigned misunderstanding would also be a good idea. “I’m not sure I understand. Are you saying I should be you?