Great Gransnet ?

Well we are all so blessed to have all these descendants. I joke with my eldest gt grandson and tell him I would like to be a great great ! He is only 10 but you never know. His Mum was 17 and still at school when she had him and his Dad was 19. They are married now and happy as Larry. This little boy actually had a great great great grandma for a short while before she died. They were Dutch people and all had children at a young age and then lived a long time.

My eldest Gdd did have a GGM for a while, but my DM died at 97, when she was 3 months old.

Dd wanted a photo of her with her GGM, but DM had advanced dementia and TBH looked pretty horrific by then, poor old thing, not to mention being completely oblivious of anything going on.
So baby Gdd was put - sort of - in DM’s arms for the pic.
I came across it the other day while going through old photos - my goodness, it’s one I will never, ever show to Gdd!! My poor old DM looked dreadful.

When Gdd was very little, certainly under 2, she used to like looking at photos on my iPad. I once left her looking at them while nipping to the loo or something - only to have her come running up, very upset, saying, ‘Oh no! Oh no!’

To my chagrin she had found another pic of DM with advanced dementia, but not the one with her as a new baby - DM had had a fall and her face was as black and blue as if she’d done 10 rounds with Mike Tyson. I’d only taken the pic to show siblings - TBH my DM didn’t seem in any pain or distress.

Had to explain to a very worried, very tiny Gdd that it was a very poor old lady, but she was much better now.

I met one gt grandmother. I was 7 and she 97 and bedridden as we called it back in 1955.
She was living with her unmarried DD, in a cottage on the esplanade.
My DS and I, fresh from the bright sunlight of the beach, were taken into her darkened room and held her hands as she lay in her high Victorian bed,
It was rather frightening. Her hands were paper thin, wrinkled and covered with liver spots and there was a foostie smell in the room.
Now of course I look at my own hands when I clasp those sweet little hands of my DGC. The circle of life.

My DMiL is 97 and has 10 DGGC and knows them all. At the moment I have no such ambition. My eldest DGC will be 16 soon and I hope will have many years before settling down

I doubt I will ever be a great grandparent, at least not while I am alive. We are a family that take family progression slowly.

My mother was 31 when I was born and had time to enjoy her youth, travelling making limited progress with her career before stopping work, as you had to then, to become a mother, because I was the eldest and also delayed motherhood until my late 20s, she also had a good period when she could continue working and be fancy free before becoming a grandmother as she reached retirement age. She was fit an healthy, so was able to enjoy being a grand parent and died as they flew the nest and we all saw less of them.

My life has been similar. I worked for 7 years before I had children, which enabled me to advance my career well enough to make coming back to work easy. Then after the children grew up and away, we had a decade or so of being free as air then, a year or two into retirement we had grandchildren, a wonderful tie, but a tie, nevertheless.

Now DGC are into their teens and will soon fly the nest and if they haven't had children before we die, so be it.

My only living grandparent died when I was 2.She was younger than i am now but looks 20 years older.I have 11 grandchildren and ,by December this year will have 10 great grandchildren plus 7 foster greatgrandchildren as well.My grandchildren range from 3 to 34 and greatgrandchildren from 3 to 14.It's a struggle remembering birthdays !!

I never knew my great grandparents, but at the age of 79 I have 6 great grandchildren.

My paternal grandparents died before I was born and my maternal ones were only around when I was a child and teenager - as they died in their fifties and sixties, more common back then. I doubt I'll be around to see great grandchildren either, as the GC are young and unlikely to be parents until in their 30s.

I had a step great grandmother who died when I was eight. I was 63 when my granddaughter was born so think it unlikely that I’ll ever be a great grandmother. Especially if she follows in her mother’s footsteps and waits until her 40s to have children!

I became a great grandmother nearly eight years ago when I was 70.His brother was born two years later so have two now, and possibly a few more over the years if I live long enough.My grandchildren number five altogether, the oldest born when I was 47.
I have a good memory of one of my great grandmothers, the only one alive when I was born.She died when I was 10, she was 84 then.I still have very very distant memories of two of my great grandfathers.Both white haired old men sitting in chairs when I was taken to visit them.They must have both died shortly afterwards, as I never remember seeing them again.
My great grandsons call me Grandma first name.I always called my great grandma Nanna.My great grandas were both Greatgranda surname.

I have one great grandson which is lovely. Had my children in early twenties grandkids in my forties and a bonus grandkid fairly recently. So blended a family really. Never knew great grandparents at all. Think that more extended families nowadays is the norm.

I'm a Great to four, three live very close but I see more of the one that lives furthest away, but I see very little of any of them which is sad.
However I can remember how difficult it could be with young children and an extended family, to get around to visiting all the aunts and uncles as well as Great aunts and uncles. So recognise that Gt Grandparents come bottom of the pecking order.
I never knew any of mine, all dead before I was born.

I had a great grandfather until I was 14 - he died at 96, a lovely old man who outlived both grandfathers.

A great grandmother died just a couple of days before I was born.

Whether I’ll ever see any grandchildren let alone GG children I don’t know - dd was 38 before she had her first - I was 67. Eldest is now just 7.

My aunt died in March and she was a great, great grandmother to four little ones. Sadly they ranged in age from a few weeks to three so they will have no memories of her. She was almost 96.

Three of my great grandparents were around when I was born. I can only remember one of my great grandmothers. She died just before my 8th birthday so I do remember her. I remember her and my grandma taking me to the park in Leicester when we visited them. Great grandma would get on the bus and visit us at home well into her 80s. I have just the one photo of me aged 2 or3 with my mum, grandma and great grandma. It's just a snap taken by grandad in the back yard of their terraced house but it means so much to me.

I was 53 when my first grandchild was born. She is now 12 so maybe I will be in another four generation photo.

I didn't know any of my greats but my nan knew our first 4 children.

My mother was mortified that i had so many children but revelled in the kudos that she earned by having 8 great grand children from them.

I have one granddaughter and just the one grandson.

My son and his wife were married for quite a few years before they had my granddaughter.

My granddaughter is now 31 and her son ( my g/grandson) will be 6 at Christmas.

I am now in my 92nd year and count myself a very lucky lady to still be here to enjoy their company even if it is on Facetime because they live a few miles away.

On one side I come from a family where marriages are late so most of us have been around 30 or more before we have children and my father was 4th of 11 and my grandmother 11 of 13 so all my great grandparents died at least a decade before I was born. My maternal grandmother's father died a few months before she was born, so he died over 60 years before I was born.

I didn't become a grandmother until my mid-60s, my father was 92 and still sound in mind if a bit creaky in body when she was born so became a great grandfather, which he loved, but he died 6 months after her birth.

I had my family late 20s and so did my two ac don't think I will see great grand children but I feel lucky to see my grandchildren .

I met both my Great Grandmas. I remember the one but she died when I was about 4 I think. We lived round the corner from her so I would see her quite a lot. My own children had a Great Grandma until they were adults which I thought was quite unusual.

I met one great grandmother on one occasion
I had mine in my early to mid 20 s but mine were all in their 30s or very late 20 s and most of my grandkids seem career orientated
I was in my mid to late 50s before I had any grandkids so I m not expecting to be a great any time soon, if ever

My dad was nearly 50 when I was born and he was orphaned young so no grandparents for me on that side. My mum’s mum died when I was four so I just had my grandad.

My mum is in her 90’s now and she has, I think, 14 great-great-grandchildren in total. My oldest GC is only 12 so no prospect of GGC for me yet!

My grandparents married very young and so did my GG parents so I remember them...We all called my great gran Maw even her husband...She must have been in her early 50s when I was born but looked so old...Dress with a pinny over it and hair scraped back in a bun...She used to send me for snuff...Always a 1/4 Irish I was to ask for...It was loose and the tobacconist put it in a wee pointy bag...Always came me a shilling for going....Great old gal and we all loved her...

I had my children in my early 20s but my DC became parents only in their thirties. So I could have been a Great Gran by now if they had followed my example. My own grandparents were quite elderly or so I remember them.

GaGa by name and gaga by nature is what I meant.

I never met my Great Grandparents as my Grandparents were quite old when I was born. I do have Grt Grandchildren 5 and one on the way. Became a Great Grand in mid 60s luckily they all live close by and my GC make sure that they visit or invite me over so they all know who I am GaGa by and Gaga by nature ? it’s lovely seeing them develop their personalities and watch my GC raise another generation.
Aren’t we lucky? there can’t of been many generations that are able to live long and relatively healthy enough to see their Grt Grandchildren raised.

I only had one elderly grandparent and our children tend to start their families much later . I did love my nan but I didn’t feel special, she never took me out anywhere or treat me but that was usual in those days.
My gcs are still very young , I was over 60 before the first was born. Now mid 70 s, both still at primary school so if I am well enough to make a graduation or wedding I will be lucky.
It must be lovely to see another generation but not sure what yours should call each other.