Grandmother’s job is a labor of love

As much as I love being Pulse editor, I have found a job I love even more. On Dec. 29, I became a grandmother for the first time.

Many of you must be smiling with knowing looks right now, I’m sure. You know how grand it is.

My granddaughter is, of course, absolutely beautiful, highly intelligent and angelic. That’s my editorial opinion and I’m sticking to it. Before she was born, I was prepared to think that; everyone told me I would.

What caught me by surprise was the joy and pride of watching my daughter and son-in-law become parents. There’s a new awe and confidence about them. Despite dire financial news and war in the Middle East, they’re seeing the world through new eyes and finding it a pretty amazing place these days.

A family walk through the neighborhood is a new adventure for them. For a baby, who at first didn’t want to wake up to eat, gaining nine ounces is cause for celebration.

They’re also discovering exhaustion as they have never known it. Babies, we know, run on their own 24-hour clocks, with no distinction between day and night.

Watching them struggle to adjust to a totally different lifestyle has given me a much deeper appreciation for the grandparents I met through Georgia State University’s Project Healthy Grandparents program.

As you’ll read in this month’s story, 6.3 percent of American children under 18 (according to the 2000 census) are living in grandparent-headed households. This happens for many reasons: Some parents die, others become addicted to drugs or alcohol, and others are abusive or neglectful.

Some grandparents are willing to step up and raise these children, rather than see siblings separated and placed into foster care. They offer the love and stability that children need, but can you imagine the challenges?

These are people in their 50s, 60s and 70s, and who may be working or caring for aging parents. Some have health or financial problems of their own. Others may be unable to drive or may not even own a car?. All this and trying to deal with the needs of young children? These special people perform a daunting task.

“Getting up every morning and walking them a half-mile to school was rough, but we made it and I feel good about it,” said Dorothy Jean Johnson, who raised her two great-grandchildren for several years before their mother took them back.

Seeing a growing social trend, two nurses at Georgia State University designed Project Healthy Grandparents as an intervention in 1995. As part of the program, nurses and social workers visit grandparent caregivers to assess their needs and help them tap into community resources to make their jobs easier.

“What these grandparents do is inspiring,” said Susan Kelley, director of Project Healthy Grandparents. So is this program.

CELEBRATING NURSES

Don’t miss your last chance to nominate nurses for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and ajcjobs annual Nursing Excellence Awards. To nominate a nurse who went above and beyond the call of duty in 2008, go to Celebrating Nurses.

The nomination deadline is Feb. 27.

This year’s Celebrating Nurses awards banquet will be on May 6 at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre.

CORRECTION: A story that ran in the January issue of Pulse incorrectly stated that St. Joseph’s Hospital in Atlanta was the only hospital in the state to win the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses Beacon Award for clinical excellence in 2008. Gwinnett Medical Center’s intensive care unit in Lawrenceville received Beacon Awards in 2007 and 2008.

- Do you have any story ideas for Pulse? We’d love to hear more about your career and what you do after hours. Send e-mail to pulseeditor@ajc.com or call 404-526-2078.