I’m a Mom. I’m a Grandmom. And Wow, They Are Not the Same.

I’m a mom and I’m also a grandmom, (gamma to the littles), and Mmm, I can’t say one is better than the other, but they are very, very different.

Let me set the stage.

I’m an only child, and I loved being an only child. I never imagined myself having more than one child, and yet, there I was. My first son turned two, and something shifted. I just knew there would be another, and there was exactly nine months later. As we know, life sometimes has a way of making decisions for you that turn out to be exactly right.

I adored being a mom. I still do.

But let’s be real. I was a moderately driven, career-focused woman. I worked long hours, traveled for business, and felt like I had to prove myself every step of the way. Regardless, I threw myself into motherhood with everything I had.

I became that hockey mom.Hours upon hours at the rink. Practices, games, tournaments, near and (more often) far. 6AM practices, late nights, freezing cold arenas, expensive team fees and equipment, and loving every minute of it because they were mine.

Fast-forward.

My sons are adults now, terrific men with wonderful wives. They started their own families and something happened that I didn’t expect. The love didn’t just continue, it expanded and actually exploded.

My grandchildren are still young, and the unbridled joy they bring is something I don’t even have the words for (and you know I always have words). Toothless grins and the softness of their cheeks, and the way they melt into me when they fall asleep on my shoulder. That feeling is everything and I can’t explain it, you just have to feel it.

Indeed, grandparenthood is different. When I was raising my sons, my focus was split. I was building a career, then running a business, showing up in the business world, and showing up for them too. I did the best I could and I’m proud of that.

But now I get to be fully present and soak it in. I get to focus purely on the love, laughter, silliness, stories, cuddles, and the all-important “watch me, Gamma!” moments. I still have a business that I'm passionate about and I still work hard but it's different. There's no dividing myself into pieces.

Just presence, no pressure, so maybe that’s the difference.

Motherhood is intense. Grandmotherhood is loving without the distraction of "self." I am deeply aware of how lucky I am to experience both because while they’re different, they are both, in their own way, everything.