No Ordinary Grandma

I'm also hoping to win in the Most Adored Grandmother category, though I'm finding it hard to one-up my friend Irene, who tells me that her grandkids stand sobbing by the door at the end of her visits, pleading with her as she heads for the airport, "Don't go. Don't go."

(I, too, could claim that tears have been shed when I've said goodbye to my Colorado grandchildren, Bryce and Miranda. But then I'd have to acknowledge that the tears being shed aren't theirs — they're mine.)

Competition for Most Adored Grandmother seriously heats up when grandmothers compete for the affections of the same grandchildren. Yes, fond though we may be of the other granny, and glad though we may be that she loves our grandchildren, and resigned though we may be that they love her back, we are hoping they love us more. A whole lot more.

Now, it's embarrassing to admit to such ungenerous feelings. It's embarrassing to be secretly assessing the assets of our competition. And yet … we're assessing.

This granny always buys them lavish presents. That granny lives near Disney World. This granny has purple-streaked hair and is really cool. That granny takes them ice-skating. "So how was your weekend with your [glamorous, cool, ice-skating] grandma?" I asked Olivia. "Awesome!" was her exuberant reply. "Except when it was Sunday and she had to go back to Michigan." I decided not to ask if that made her cry.

I'm giving some thought, however, to taking up ice-skating.

Judith Viorst is the author of many books for adults and children.