24 Resolutions for 2024

The last time I wrote New Year’s resolutions was at the start of 2020. I did pretty good the first two months but when the pandemic hit us in March, my resolutions went out the window. I will attempt this one more time. I will pick up some of the ones I made that year, and add a few new ones:

1. I will forgive all who have hurt me in the past. Life is too short for anger and grudges.
2. I will apologize to those I have hurt in the past. Life is too short for hurt feelings.
3. I will do my best to help those in need. 
4. I will spread love, kindness and compassion instead of gossip, resentment or prejudice.
5. I will remove negativity from my life, including those persons that complain constantly. Negativity spreads so I will attempt to surround myself with positive people and positive thoughts.
6. I will give more compliments and less complaints.
7. I will attempt to be more patient with bad drivers, rude retail clerks, restaurant waiters with poor manners, slow customer service phone operators, and especially, with my family.
8. I will commit to sending a hand-written note to twelve different persons... one per month. It may be a “thank you,” “get-well”, “encouragement” or “just because” kind of note.
9. I will spend less time on social media and more time face-to-face with those that truly matter.
10.  I will commute productively by spending that daily hour in the car either praying, listening to a positive podcast or reaching out to someone that I have not spoken to in a while.
11. I will be less perfectionist and more “go with the flow.” Life is not perfect so I don’t need to be either.
12. I will delegate tasks that others can do for me. I can do anything but I can’t do everything.
13. I will learn to accept change with a positive mindset.
14. I will hug my loved ones more. I am not a hugger by nature so this will require some work on my part.
15. I will treat myself kindly by making time to relax. I don’t need to finish everything today.
16. I will worry less about the future, stop living in the past, and simply enjoy the “now.”
17. I will cultivate an attitude of gratitude by being more grateful for little things. And I will make time to write on my journal what I’m grateful for at least once a month.
18. I will make a conscious effort to invite one person per month to join me for either breakfast, lunch or dinner. It may be a friend, a family member or someone new that God places in my path.
19. I will dedicate more time to doing what I enjoy most... writing.
20. I will get out of my comfort zone by doing something different from my usual routine… maybe dancing???
21. I will find good books to read (spiritual and uplifting) and waste less time in pointless literature.
22. I will stop by the Blessed Sacrament more frequently. According to Matthew Kelly, “We tend to emulate the people we spend time with. By spending time in the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, we become more like Him." Hopefully, spending a few minutes each week with Him, will help me to become a better me.
23. I will find some good movies to watch, similar to one I watched last week, “I can only imagine.”

This is what I wrote at the start of 2020: “The 20s will be an amazing decade... if I have the right attitude... no matter what the future holds.” Little did I know that the 20s would have such a rocky beginning. It’s been pretty tough. We have lost a lot of people, some very close to my heart. But it’s also been a very good decade. I became a grandma in 2021, and now, I have two beautiful grandsons that I love more than life. My daughter got married in 2023, my youngest son will get married in 2024. There will be sad times ahead, but also joyful ones. Therefore, for my final resolution:

24. I will count my joys and my blessings, and I will offer the sad times for someone that has it worst than me. I will walk into 2024, wearing a big smile, and I will keep that smile no matter what the future holds.

I surrender 2024 to You, Lord, with hope in my heart that it will turn out to be a great year. 

Copyright © 2023 Christy Romero. All rights reserved.

There’s Nothing I Hold Onto

“Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master's joy.” Matthew 25:21

I have found myself today humming to the beat of this song by Will Reagan titled “Nothing I Hold Onto.” The reason is probably that we have been singing it for the past few weeks at the beginning of our Bible class, and it’s one of those songs that sticks with you, especially because you repeat the words, “there’s nothing I hold onto” eight times. My favorite verse, though, is “I give it all to you God, trusting that you’ll make something beautiful out of me.”

I have a tendency to become very attached to my possessions, and I tend to forget that nothing I have truly belongs to me. Everything I have belongs to God. I’m just borrowing it for a little while. Last Sunday’s reading reminded me of that. It was the parable of the talents from Matthew 25:14-30. A man entrusted his servants with his possessions while he went on a journey. One servant received five talents, another one two and a third received one talent. By the way, a talent in Jesus’ time was a very valuable coin, worth today about $28,000. The first two servants invested their master’s talents and when he returned they had doubled their value. But the third servant, buried the one talent, and when the master returned, he was furious with the servant because he had been lazy and wicked.

All I have, both possessions and abilities, belong to God. I cannot hold onto them and bury them like the lazy servant. When God comes knocking at my door, I will need to leave all my possessions behind. There’s nothing I can hold onto and take it with me to my next destination. And my talents need to be invested in God’s kingdom. If my talent was singing, I would need to sing for God. It is not. I was kicked out of the choir for singing completely out of tune. But I have other abilities, and I need to give them to God trusting that He will make something beautiful out of me. Of course, this requires faith. Faith is the ability to share in God’s creative power. Faith gives us the courage not to hide our talents. We all have talents. The question is: What are we going to do with them?

Sometimes we wish we could have other people’s talents, but that’s because we fail to see our own. We need to be grateful to God for the talents that He has entrusted to us. Maybe our talent is public speaking. We need to speak up and spread His message. If our talent is teaching then we need to teach others His Word. Some people are great at bringing comfort to others. Others are good with numbers. They can help people get their finances in order. There’s a lady I met recently that is teaching people with mental illness how to do a budget and manage their finances. And she does this for free. 

One of my passions is writing. I wouldn’t call it a talent because I know I’m not great at it. If I was, my blog would have thousands of followers, and my book would have caught the attention of a publisher. Sometimes I get discouraged that nobody really cares about what I write. But when that happens, God sends me someone to let me know that something I wrote really helped her. And thus, I keep writing. Even if it only touches one person, then it was worth it. And I say this prayer: “I give all my thoughts and words to you God, trusting that You’ll make something beautiful out of them.”

Copyright © 2023 Christy Romero. All rights reserved.

#praysurrenderandtrust

Trusting in the One that Loves You

"If you follow the will of God, you know that in spite of all the terrible things that happen to you… even when no human being can or will help you, you may go on, trusting in the One that loves you." Pope Benedict XVI

My previous post, God is Challenging Me to Surrender, caused quite a commotion. A few people reached out to make sure I was fine. Some were concerned it was a health related issue or something going on with my kids. It’s neither, but I guess in trying to keep it private, I scared a lot of people. Thank God my issue is not as serious as people thought, even though it has kept me awake and worried for the better part of the last two months. But since deciding to surrender my plans to God, I have felt much more at peace. Thank you to all of you that have been praying for me because I know that your prayers have made a world of difference. 

A couple of weeks ago, I met with a priest for spiritual direction. One of the issues that I am struggling with is distinguishing God’s voice. It’s hard to recognize His voice when there are so many others trying to pull me in many different directions. He recommended a book titled “In the School of the Holy Spirit,” by Jacques Philippe. I bought it immediately, and I have started reading it. 

I am currently reading chapter three, “How Can We Know that an Inspiration Comes from God?” As soon as I read the title, I was hopeful it would provide me with the answers I was seeking. Of course, nothing is black or white, so I still have a lot to learn to be able to discern God’s voice, but the following paragraph caught my attention: “What comes from the Spirit of God brings with it joy, peace, tranquility of spirit, gentleness, simplicity, and light. On the other hand, what comes from the spirit of evil brings sadness, trouble, agitation, worry, confusion, and darkness.” 

I realized that these past two months I have been feeling a lot of worry, confusion, and darkness, therefore this clearly is not coming from God. He cannot be the source of all this sadness and agitation that I have been carrying in my heart. “The Spirit of God unfailingly produces peace in our souls, and the devil unfailingly produces agitation.” Therefore, I have reached the conclusion that my plan, as good as it seemed, was not coming from God. And since my prayer was, “Close the door, Lord, if this is not the right decision,” He slammed it right on my face. I just wished He had been a little more gentle. 

Now, I’m resorting to plan B, and so far I have been feeling very much at peace, so that’s a good sign. I am placing my full trust in the One that I know loves me unconditionally, and I’m letting Him lead the way. 

Copyright © 2023 Christy Romero. All rights reserved.

#praysurrenderandtrust

It’s Not Fair

 “The last will be first, and the first will be last.” Matthew 20:1

On Thursday morning, I went to the post office to send a care package for my two beautiful grandsons (yes, I have two now but I’m not supposed to announce it on social media so keep it hush hush). To my surprise, the post office was empty. There was only one gentleman who was complaining to the post lady. I caught the end of the conversation, but it seemed that he was upset because when he got there she was on her phone and didn’t take care of him right away. Then I heard him say: “I’m going to call the police.” I figured that something more serious must have happened. 

He then stepped outside of the counter area, and the post lady asked if she could help me. The gentleman was standing just a few feet away, so as I was giving my package to the lady, I clearly heard “911, what is your emergency?” He then proceeded to explain to the 911 operator that he was at the post office and he had been ignored. Three times I heard him say: “But it’s not fair…” 

When I left the post office, he was still on the phone. I got to my car and just sat there in shock. “Did I just witness someone calling the police because he didn’t get the treatment that he felt he deserved?” Wow. If we all start doing that they are going to have to hire many more 911 dispatchers because yes, I do agree with him that in most places customer service has completely declined, but that’s not a reason to dial 911. 

Yes, life sometimes it’s not fair. It’s not fair when you’ve been standing in line at the grocery store for ten minutes, and they open a new register and the last ones get to go first. But that’s not a 911 emergency. It’s not fair when your flight gets canceled last minute and you have to scramble to rearrange your travel plans. “911, what is your emergency? American Airlines just canceled my flight. Can you please arrest them?” It’s not fair when you are in a rush and running late, and you catch every possible red light. There’s an idea. Next time I find myself in that predicament, I’ll call 911 to request a police escort. 

Life is not fair, but it’s also wonderful. Most of the time, it’s our choice. We can choose to look at the glass half full or half empty. That gentleman at the post office could have chosen to wait patiently for the post lady to finish whatever she was doing on her phone, but instead he wasted his time calling 911 because I don’t think they were going to send the police to come to his rescue. And for me, life turned out to be very fair because I would have been behind him in line and I ended up being first. 

Copyright © 2023 Christy Romero. All rights reserved.

God is Challenging Me to Surrender

“We can only learn to know ourselves and do what we can - namely, surrender our will and fulfill God’s will in us.” St. Teresa of Avila

It’s been a while since my last post. I’ve had a lot on my plate these past two months, and I’ve pushed writing to the bottom of my priority list. 

As a devoted planner, surrendering my plans to God is never easy. I do pray before making any life altering decisions. I spend time in silence trying to ponder which is the best path to take. But sometimes, separating God’s voice from the rest of the noise going on around me is not that easy. When I think I figured out exactly what it is that God wants from me, He throws me a curve ball and I realize that the straight line path I had carved for myself, has turned into the road to Hana.

Back in 2006, I visited Hawaii with my family, and we decided to drive the infamous road to Hana. This is a winding, 52-mile narrow road, with over 600 curves and 50 one-lane bridges. As much as I wanted to enjoy the breathtaking views of waterfalls, lush vegetation and forests, I was holding on to the door handle until my knuckles turned white. On the way there, we did stop various times to take pictures and to swim in the Seven Sacred Pools. This gave me some much needed time to catch my breath, and appreciate all the beauty surrounding me.

On the way back, though, we had no plans to stop. My husband, being a lifetime Miami driver not used to all these turns and curves, was driving very slowly and carefully. Pretty soon, we were the leaders of a long caravan of dozens of cars. As we came upon a curve, we heard a big loud noise coming from the opposite direction. It sounded like a runaway train. As we took the curve, we found ourselves in front of a huge truck with two more behind it. There was no way we could both fit on that narrow road. The driver of the first truck got off and told us that we had to drive in reverse until we got to a wider part of the road. We looked back and saw the caravan of cars with no end in sight. The truck driver realized his predicament. The next alternative was to move the car as close as possible to the side of the road (luckily we were on the mountain side, not the precipice), push the side view mirrors to the inside, and hope the trucks would make it without falling down the steep rock on their side. My husband began to walk to the cars behind us to give them the same instructions that we had just received. My kids were all excited with this unexpected adventure. I was just praying we could make it out alive and before it got dark.

After this nerve-racking experience, I was happy never to take another twisting road again. The boring Florida turnpike is good enough for me. And it’s the same with my life. I like it when everything goes down a straight and wide path. Unfortunately, life never seems to go that way. So I have found myself these past two months riding a rollercoaster with no end in sight. I have realized that I’m having a really hard time discerning what God wants from me. I thought I had it all figured out, but apparently I was totally wrong. Please keep me in your prayers so I can distinguish God’s voice amongst so many others trying to misdirect me. Just like I made it out unscathed from the road to Hana, I hope I can make it out unblemished from this whole ordeal. And I know that the first step is to surrender all my plans to God.

Copyright © 2023 Christy Romero. All rights reserved.

Awaiting for a Glorious New Bud

“And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home” John 19:27

It’s 5 o’clock in the morning, and I just finished praying a rosary. I’m in Charlotte, North Carolina, sitting by the front window of my daughter and son-in-law’s home. I woke up an hour ago and couldn’t go back to sleep, therefore I figured I could do something more productive than stay in bed tossing and turning.

I was pondering in my heart about the 33-day retreat that I finished on Tuesday. In case you missed my last blog post, on July 13th I began a 33-day retreat. This was not your usual retreat. I didn’t go away for 33 days. I didn’t disconnect from the world for 33 days. I didn’t even go to a special retreat house. I did this retreat on my own and in my own home. Actually, I was not on my own. I was accompanied by Mama Mary and Jesus every step of the way. I was also accompanied by St. Louis de Montfort, St. Maximilian Kolbe, St. Teresa of Calcutta and St. John Paul II.

The purpose of the retreat was to consecrate myself to Jesus through Mary. St. Louis taught me that “I must surrender my will to God so that my life is aligned with His plans, not mine. ‘W + w = S.’ The capital W stands for God’s Will. The small w stands for my will. When the two wills are united, they equal Sanctity.” Sounds pretty simple, right? All I need to do is unite my will to God’s will in order to become a saint. If only… My hubby will be the first one to tell you that I’m no saint. Yes, I am definitely imperfect, but one must never lose hope to become perfect, right? Mama Mary can help us to reach this goal. She was the most perfect human because she was born without the stain of original sin. She completely surrendered her life to God because she aligned her will to God’s will perfectly. I know that with her help, I can improve each day to become the person that God created me to be… and hopefully a “saint” by the time I die. I can only hope.

According to St. Maximilian, the path to reach this perfection is to “belong to Mary in an ever more perfect way.” This can be accomplished “by relying on her powerful intercession, experiencing her tender care, speaking to her from our hearts, letting ourselves be led by her, having recourse to her in all things, and trusting her completely.” St. Maximilian surrendered himself completely, to the point that he traded places with a husband and father that was going to be executed in a concentration camp. He was able to surrender his life because his heart belonged to Mary. He recognized that the greatest way to give glory to God is to unite oneself to the creature who glorifies God most perfectly, Mary Immaculate. I hope that like St. Maximilian, I learn how to fully surrender my heart to Mama Mary. One way to start is by praying a daily rosary, like I just did. This allows me to have a conversation with Mary, because as I pray the mysteries, I open my heart to her and share with her all my worries and concerns, all my doubts and fears, and I also ask her to show me the path that I must follow in order to become perfect like her.

During the third week of the retreat, I was accompanied by St. Teresa of Calcutta, one of my favorite saints. St. Teresa taught me about Jesus’ thirst. Jesus thirsts for us, and He suffers when we turn away from Him. St. Teresa felt His thirst deep within her. This caused her much suffering, but she tells us that “when we experience suffering, we experience the kiss of Jesus. When we look at Him on the cross, He is looking down because He wants to kiss us, and His arms are open because He wants to embrace us.” We are precious to Him and that is why He thirsts for us. He thirsts for our love. St. Teresa taught me that I need to open my heart to Jesus just as I am. He loves me with all my imperfections. And she also taught me not to fear suffering because it is in the suffering that we experience Jesus’ embrace and kisses. I just hope that He doesn’t embrace me too hard nor kiss me too much.

On my final week of the retreat, St. John Paul II joined me. What a blessing he was for the 20th century. I will never forgive myself that I did not attend his mass when he came to Miami because it was raining. Seriously, how dumb of me to allow the rain to stop me from hearing mass from a future saint. Today, I would have gone in the middle of a snowstorm. But hindsight is 20/20 and yes, I missed the only opportunity that I would ever have of seeing him. I did get a glance of him when he passed in his popemobile through Downtown Miami, but that doesn’t compare to having attended the mass. When I finally made it to Rome for the first time, he had died two years before. I was able to visit his wooden tomb which was at the time underneath St. Peter’s Basilica. I remember it was filled with more flowers than it’s even possible to imagine. But I regress. Even though I never got to meet him in person, I have the joy of knowing that he has a very special place in heaven and I can pray to him for his intercession. He taught me during the retreat that I must belong completely to Mama Mary, just like he did. His motto was “Totus Tuus” (Totally Yours).

The retreat concluded on August 15th, the day we celebrate the Assumption of Mary. I happened to be in New York on that day. My son and daughter-in-law needed a babysitter, and of course, I couldn’t pass up on the opportunity to spend a week with my grandson. But thanks to my husband who volunteered to stay with the baby, I was able to attend mass at a nearby church, and I recited my prayer of consecration in front of a statue of Mary. Even though I was on my own, it was a very special private moment between me and Mama Mary. And what a glorious moment it was.

Now that I have been consecrated to Jesus through Mary, my journey is just beginning. Mama Mary, my spiritual mother, will walk with me on this journey. One thing that I learned during this retreat is that she is available to us in all our needs, not just the serious ones like an illness, but also the most menial ones like running out of wine at a party. 

Mama Mary also taught me to develop an “attitude of gratitude” by following her example. She was always “pondering in her heart” the “good things” that God was doing in her life. I have started a gratitude journal. Now, at the end of each day, I ponder in my heart all the good things God has done for me during the day and I write them down.

Mama Mary will not take away the crosses that I must carry, but with her help, their weight will be lighter. She had to carry her own crosses during her earthly life. As I sat by the window during my rosary, I pondered about her life. How hard it had to be to see her Son on the cross. I couldn’t help but think of my sister-in-law who lost not one, but two sons. As a mother, I cannot think of a heavier cross. I pray for all the mothers that are carrying such heavy crosses. I pray that they realize that they can turn to Mama Mary because no one understands that pain better than her. I pray that I never have to carry such a heavy cross during my journey, but whatever the future holds, I am taking Mama Mary with me. Just like John took her into his home after Jesus died, I am taking her with me into the home of my heart. I will share with her all my joys and sorrows, hopes and fears, plans and activities. My journey with her to her Son will be a path of roses, thorns and buds. Hopefully the smell of the roses will be stronger than the agony of the thorns, as I await for a glorious new bud. 

Copyright © 2023 Christy Romero. All rights reserved.

I have been on a Spiritual Vacation

“Totus Tuus” John Paul II

Every summer my spirituality seems to take a vacation. I’m not sure what causes it, but for whatever reason, during the summer, my spiritual well runs dry. It’s almost as if the hot sun has a drying effect on my soul.

A few days ago, a friend invited me to start the Marian consecration. To be honest, I had no idea what she was talking about. But I knew that I needed to get back on my spiritual track, so I ordered the book that she recommended. I started reading it on Thursday, and I learned that a Marian consecration is “a new way of life in Christ.” t thought that a Marian consecration meant that I would consecrate myself to Mary, but instead, what it means is that I will consecrate myself to Jesus through Mary.

This reminded me of what I learned during my Holy Land pilgrimage five years ago. On that pilgrimage, at the Church of the Visitation, I felt in love with a painting on the back wall of the church that shows Mary standing with the moon at her feet. Father Willie, our spiritual director during the pilgrimage, told us that the reason why Mary is shown many times standing in top of the moon is because Mary is like the moon. Just like the moon does not have light of its own but instead reflects the light of the sun, Mary reflects the light of her Son. Therefore, it makes sense that a Marian consecration doesn’t mean that we are going to be consecrated to Mary, instead, she will help us to get closer to her Son.

The book that my friend recommended for the consecration is called “33 days to Morning Glory,” by Father Michael Gaitley. It’s basically a 33 day retreat that should lead me to “a gloriously new day, a new dawn, a brand new morning in (my) spiritual journey.” I’m on day three of the retreat, and I am so excited. I feel that this is exactly what I needed to water my dry well.

I know that sticking to this for 33 days will not be an easy task because life has a way to get in the way. But I like the fact that the book addresses this: “33 days is a long time to be on retreat, and it just might happen that, despite our good intentions and best efforts, we’ll miss a day (or days) of the readings and prayers. If this happens, we need not get discouraged, and we surely shouldn’t quit!” This alone gave me hope because I have the tendency to quit if things don’t go as planned, and missing a day of the retreat would be enough for me to call it quits.

Therefore, I am starting this journey to “Morning Glory” with every intention to keep up with the daily readings and prayers. But if for whatever reason, I happen to miss a day (or days), I will not quit, I will “simply read the text for the days (I) missed as soon as (I) can and keep going with the retreat.”

Hopefully, by the time I reach the end of the retreat on August 15th, the feast of the Assumption, I will experience “a gloriously new morning in my walk with Christ, now with Mary.” And hopefully by then, my spiritual vacation will have reached its end, and I will be fully consecrated to living “a new way of life in Christ.” As St. John Paul II used to say, “Totus Tuus.” I am “Totally Yours” Christ, do with me as You wish.

Copyright © 2023 Christy Romero. All rights reserved.

Grand-parenting in the 21st Century

“Being a grandparent in this century is fascinating. Last century we were wise parents. On this one, we are just prehistoric.”

I spent this weekend in New York babysitting my 19-month old grandson. I was changing his diaper, and my son noticed that I kept turning the wipe so I could use it various times. He told me: “You use that wipe a lot more than me. I wipe once and then I get a new one.” His comment made me realize the huge gap between his generation and mine, and we are just 30 years apart. I can’t even imagine what my grandmother would think if she was alive today.

I was born in the 60s where disposable diapers were not even a dream. My mom and grandmother had to use cloth diapers, wash them and re-wash them to be used over and over again. Thankfully, by the time my turn came to become a mommy in the 80s, disposable diapers were already the norm. But we were still far behind from the generation that is becoming parents today. 

In many ways, we have advanced and come a long way, which makes babysitting our grandkids in the 21st century much easier. The baby monitor is now on my phone, and I can see the baby while he sleeps. In other ways, though, we are not doing so good. Yes, it is much easier to use disposable diapers than cloth ones, and much better not to have to worry about turning the wipe around to use just one or two wipes, instead of five or six, but recent studies have shown us that all these disposable items are seriously affecting our environment. Ninety-nine percent of the stuff we buy today is trashed within six months. And we are getting worst with every generation. It’s not just the baby stuff, today, almost everything is disposable. I read recently that in the past forty years we have produced more waste than in the entire history of humanity.

I remember my grandfather always carrying a handkerchief. My husband still received handkerchiefs during Christmas. If I were to give a handkerchief to my sons today, they will probably ask me: “What is that for?” My dad reused the piece of aluminum foil where he carried his lunch for an entire week, or maybe even longer if it was still in good condition. We never threw away the old newspapers. My grandmother would use them to clean the windows. We used them to wrap the glass items to place inside boxes. We even used them to wrap garbage before we threw it out so it wouldn’t smell. My grandparents kept their photographs in old shoe boxes. My grandmother used to have a box full of buttons, safety pins and other sewing knick knacks. I picked up this custom from her. I save all the extra buttons that come with the clothing. I don’t think I have ever had to use one because I don’t keep my clothes long enough for them to lose a button, but I just can’t throw the buttons away… just in case.

I grew up with the mentality that we had to save everything just in case we needed it in the future, but I think my generation is probably the last one, at least in the US, that has an issue throwing away things. I saved my kids’ belly buttons, their first haircuts, their teeth, their first drawings and their first school uniforms. I’m sure my kids will not save anything of my grandkids. At the most, they may take a picture and save it on their iPhones. We have become a disposable society. We don’t save anything anymore.

The iPhone is another device that becomes obsolete when the new model comes out. I think I’m about three or four years behind. Why should I get rid of it when it works perfectly? But not for the newer generations. They change phones faster than I can learn to use them. Cars are not purchased anymore, they are leased and exchanged every three years, or even less. Computers, TVs, appliances… we don’t wait to exchange them until they stop working, that would be a sacrilege. Granted… they don’t last long nowadays. You are lucky if you buy something that doesn’t break within the year.

So yes, for those of us that were born in the last century, especially in the first sixty years, we have had to adapt rapidly. I have discovered that being a grandparent in this century is fascinating. Last century we were wise parents. On this one, we are just prehistoric. We don’t know anything. We did everything wrong with our kids. I have no idea how they survived. We put them to sleep on their tummy, how horrible. Now they must sleep face up. And forget the crib bumpers, pillows or blankets. They must sleep in a bare crib inside a sleep sack which I call the sack of potatoes. I don’t have to feed him, he does that all by himself. Cleanup does take a little longer since the food ends up in his hair, in his hands, in his feet and all around him. But he is learning much faster than my kids ever did. And I was a horrible mother introducing my kids to sweets so early in life. My grandson’s dessert is cheerios. We are not allowed to give him any ice cream or anything with sugar. And we better don’t cheat because we have nanny cams watching us all around us.

Babies now are also very technologically advanced. My grandson only speaks a few words, but he clearly says: “Hey Google.” His parents own the Alexa counterpart. He has spent the first nineteen months of his life listening to his parents say: “Hey Google, turn on the lights.” “Hey Google, how’s the weather today?” “Hey Google, play a song.” Of course he now clearly says: “Hey Google.” And he knows exactly where Google is. He looks at it, and he laughs when Google responds to him by turning on its lights. I would have never imagined such a device thirty years ago.

My grandson also talks to his wrist. His parents soon realized that he was imitating his Dada talking to his Apple Watch. He also knows how to navigate the iPhone perfectly by scrolling his little finger until he starts to open all the Apps. And he loves seeing himself on my screensaver. He points at the phone and calls out: “Baby,” and laughs when I show him the screen.

I love my Benedict more than life so I adapt, and I obey his dada and mama’s instructions. I must admit that they are doing a great job. This is the first time that me and my hubby stayed with him on our own, and he did great. He is so well behaved that as long as we followed his routine, he didn’t give us any trouble at all. He falls sleep on his own, and doesn’t even cause a fuss. But I must say it has been hard adapting to all the new gadgets and technology. Hopefully, by the time I’m on grandchild number five, I will be an expert 21st century grandma. Or maybe not. Who knows what new technology will be around a few years from now. I probably won’t even need to read them a book. Artificial Intelligence will take away the job from me.

Copyright © 2023 Christy Romero. All rights reserved.