a CSI moment

I'm expecting a call any day now from North Carolina to say that Baby Jacob is on his way. Grandpa and I will jump in our car and make the 5.5 hour drive to hold down the fort with Baby Jacob's three older siblings.

We've been exchanging emails for the past week detailing the "birth plan." Well, not so much the birth plan as what Grandma needs to know, like how to get to the school, how to get to the hospital, the dishwasher isn't draining, the dog sleeps in the garage, etc, etc.

When I inquired about internet access, my son said to give him my MAC number and he would add it to their router.

I don't have a MAC.

What is a MAC number and why would I have one?

He said it would be on the underside of my laptop.






There are five different stickers there....nothing to indicate a MAC number.

He said it would be a 12 digit number beginning with a 00.

I found the number. 12 digits. But they were teeny weeny digits. No matter where I adjusted my glasses, no matter how much I squinted, I could not make out the numbers.

Then I had a CSI moment.

I have always wondered why they investigate crime scenes with the lights off, using only their flashlights. Never mind that it makes for more dramatic cinematography. Or that it creates more suspense. But maybe, just maybe, it could help illuminate my situation (forgive the pun, I couldn't help it!)

I ran and got a flashlight. Well, not exctly a flashlight. More like the key ring with the little light beam that is supposed to help you find the lock in the dark.

And do you know that it actually does help you see more clearly? It enables you to pick up the details. It magnifies!

Yes! With my CSI light I was able to solve the case! I could read all 12 digits! And now I will have internet access with my own laptop in North Carolina!

I have a new respect for CSI.

SAHM, WAHM, SAWM, WAHG?

I have spent some time over the past two days looking for websites and blogs by and about WAHG's. What is a WAHG you ask?

I am a WAHG. A Work At Home Grandma.

And I am feeling quite isolated. I have been, at one time or another, a Stay At Home Mom, a Work At Home Mom as well as a Still At Work Mom. There are lots of sites and blogs by, for and about these Moms. I have read literally hundreds of blogs by SAHMs, WAHMs and SAWMs and am truly impressed by their creative expression and amazing achievements both as women and as moms. Their lives are overflowing and yet they still find the time to post to Tackle it Tuesdays, Wordless Wednesdays and Throwback Thursdays as well as maintaining their own blogs and websites.

But where are the mature Moms and/or the young Grandmas who are still involved with balancing family and working lives? Where are their websites and blogs? Google "blogs by grandmas" and you find sites by or about grannies in their 80's, their quilts, recipes, knitting, pearls of wisdom, or illnesses.

Have we made such a distinction between young moms and older moms that we have created a schism between the two?

Perhaps the young moms have yet to appreciate that once you are a mother, you are always a mother. Even though my baby is twenty-eight year old, I don't stop being his mother. Naturally, my tactics change, my involvement changes and my usefulness changes. But that doesn't stop me from worrying about him or offering my help from time to time. And because he is also a wise son, he asks for my input from time to time as well. I am pleased when my children ask for my opinion, amused when they discover something about parenthood and proud as they grow into productive, loving and generous individuals and parents.

My point is that Moms are tuned into caring for their children from day one and that doesn't stop when the kids leave home. I may be older now but I'm still a mom at heart. And when you stop to consider that there are women becoming moms in their 50's, there has to be room in the Motherhood for us all. While fashion, medicine and technology change, our experience as a mom, whether working away from home or at home, is universal and timeless.

Think about what we share:

pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, weaning

exhaustion, worrying over a fussy baby, caring for a sick child

that first smile, separation, day of school

finding the time/space/energy/money/inspiration/keys/shoe/answer

managing the household/shopping/schedule/clutter/appointments

learning how to nurture/feed/teach/inspire/discipline/console/encourage

finding time for ourselves


I don't profess to have wisdom or even all the answers. Give me another 20 years so! But I am a valuable resource! Let's hear it for all the boomer moms and grandmas, at home and in the work force! Go SAWGs and WAHGs!