Dear Reader,

Last week I had the extraordinary privilege of helping to take care of my nephew's twins for the better part of three days. It was completely unexpected: I was visiting my mother when one of my sisters sent out an SOS to the other four of us. The twins' daycare was closed for the week (a scheduled closure), and my nephew's mother-in-law had volunteered to take care of them. But she'd ended up in the ER with heart trouble and would be out of commission for at least a week. Their backup babysitter wasn't able to help because one of the twins had been sick and she couldn't risk catching anything. My sister had back-to-back meetings on Monday and Tuesday and was hoping one of us could help until she could get there.

I was the closest one, and I had the flexibility to change my travel plans and get to their house by noon on Monday. I took over from a generous neighbor who'd come over that morning and got to know the great-niece and nephew I'd so far only seen in photos. There were some tears (mostly crocodile tears by a future Academy Award-winning actor). I got to hold a sleeping baby. I forgot to put on their bibs at one meal. I got a great workout pushing a double stroller up and down some killer hills in their neighborhood. We had a blast, and the visit cemented three things I am consistently trying to share at More Than Grand:

1. Providing child care for your grandchildren is a major commitment. With the current cost of child care and lack of providers, many grandparents are stepping in—whether by choice or necessity. Most of us have other claims on our time and energy, and it can be hard to juggle it all. We need to be clear about what we can handle and have a solid backup plan for emergencies.
2. Parents are exhausted. Babies are exhausting. So are toddlers. Parents need all the support and understanding we can give them.
3. The village is crucial. My nephew and his wife were lucky to have a village to help out. The resources More Than Grand offers are designed to help you become a valued part of your grandchild's village by discerning what that means to your adult children. Take advantage of them!​

I'm already planning to tell my nephew to let me know when the next scheduled daycare closure is. It only took three days for those little people to worm their way firmly into my heart!

Warm regards,
DeeDee

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DeeDee Moore | Founder, More Than Grand LLC | morethangrand.com