I Am My Baby's Grandmother: On Being a Mother Again at 60

I am the 60 year old Mother of a 2 1/2 year old. During the last two and a half years, I have done it all. I have given the feedings every two and a half hours, changed a ton of stinky diapers and I have rocked a screaming baby until I felt like screaming myself. Most women my age are thinking about cruises or taking cross-country trips with their newly retired husbands or playing cards and having lunch with their friends. I struggle with car-seats and have lunch at McDonald's while sharing a 'Happy Meal' with my toddler. After having spent so many years raising a family and finally getting the last little bird out of the nest, some women can actually sit down and drink their coffee in peace. I juggle my coffee carefully in one hand, while smoothing down a pre-schooler's curls and dry a tear stained face with the other. Instead of getting my nails manicured or my hair done, I wonder when I will find the time to slap on some hair-dye to hide the gray. I experienced the pregnancy, the birth and the tantrums. I didn't do it some of it first hand, but I have done all of the things that have been the most important. The only thing I didn't do this time around was develop more stretch marks on my abdomen.