Most youngsters view their Grandparents as easy going and usually compliant with all their antics, however , this was not the situation with Granny Gheeta. Although she enjoyed spoiling her grandchildren, she had limitations and boundaries.

It is often said, that Grandparents are supposed to indulge their grandchildren in all their endeavors and be their staunch supporters, but Granny Gheeta had other ideas about Grandparenting.

Meltdowns, tantrums and dramas were not her favorite displays of human emotions. When most Grandmothers would cower and give in, Granny Gheeta used these opportunities to push hergrandchildrens' wills to the limit.

For instance, if one of her grandchildren became obnoxious or boisterous because he/ she did not get something they wanted, Granny Gheeta would not be swayed by bawling, screaming or stretching oneself out on the floor in an epileptic tantrum.

While passers-by would look on in dismay and repulsion, Granny Gheeta would whimisically carry on with her activities untill you either became exasperated and gave up, or reverted to your normal self. She didn't care if people stared at her or made crude remarks. She was intent on teaching a lesson. Eventhough as children we may have thought her actions cruel, the lesson she was trying to convey was, in life, people rarely get what they want.

Therefore, as I got older I pretty much knew the deal with Granny Gheeta, her idea of spoiling you came with a double edged sword. She didn't mind showering you with gifts if they were well deserved. However, if she felt that you were acting a bit "over the top" that's when she displayed her membership card as the #1 Member of the Rigid Old Timers Club.

Granny Gheeta always used these instances as opportunities to teach a lesson about life.

As her grandchildren grew older and life became more challenging, the depths of manipulating games became more intense.

As most Parents and Grandparents can attest, when children want their own way, there is no depths that they will not succumb to. They will use the remarks that they feel are sure to create ghasps and stop parents actions in their tracks, the "I'll run away syndrome", "I'm going to end it" and "Why don't you just drop dead!" 

Granny Gheeta had a remedy for all these little dramas. For the "I'll run away syndrome", she would go out and buy you a nice outfit and get you some luggage, then polish her actions by saying, "We want you looking nice and pretty when you are on the run, we don't want you running around in shabby luggage now,....Do we?"

Her actions would  ire and infuriate you, it made you think of another modus operandi in order to get your point accross. When most Grandparents would become frantic or "up in arms", not Granny Gheeta. She was an Outlaw when it came to her grandchildren acting up. She never gave in to dramatic episodes.

So when the stakes grew higher and the "I'll end it!" remarks got thrown around, her response to that was, "Fine, go ahead, do you want pain killers....How can I help you? Don't worry I'll make sure you have beautiful flowers on your grave."

It was another victory for Granny Gheeta, because you would just look at her as if she was crazy or a creature from another planet. Afterall, the shenanigans worked for all your other friends, why was it not working for you?

My answer to this was, that my Granny had a gold membership to the "Rigid Old Timers Club", where their motto was "We will not crack, wax or wane, even when our Grandchildren threaten us with shame." 

After awhile, it became a scientific endeavor trying to get Granny Gheeta to acquiesce to our whims.  Tantrums were taken to the highest level, and the "Drop dead" remark was born. In our minds we felt certain that this remark would appeal to her inner core and she was sure to cave in. At an early age television had taught us that most older people fear dropping dead, therefore this was going to be our best defense against Granny's Rules.

As it turned out, Granny Gheeta was looking forward to dropping dead. Her answer to this remark was a casual, "One can only hope, at least you children won't be able to stress me out any more......"

Then she managed to make us feel pangs of guilt because she enlightened us to the fact,  we had been stressing her out. With this remark Granny Gheeta shamed us into behaving. We did not want to be responsible for her blood pressure soaring or a diabetic attack.  She won another round quite easily and managed to squeeze angelic behavior out of us.

Eventually, the hint became quite clear, Granny Gheeta was not someone you could wrangle with. She was sweet an endearing in her own way, but she had set her parameters, and refused to be a doormat for any of her Grandchildren. We eventually gave up.

As time passed by and we got older, there was the occasional testing of Granny Gheeta. So when she would not buckle to our wishes, a casual, "You won't see me again!" would get thrown around.

In her feeble manner she would respond, "Do you promise...? Because these Birthday and Christmas presents are getting rather expensive as you folks get older."

At this point, her comments brought a smile to our faces, because eventhough the world had changed and other people around us may have shown their true colors.

Granny Gheeta remained the same. The lovable, stalworth, # 1 Platinum Member of the Rigid Old Timers Club.

Once Granny Gheeta passed away, her secret was revealed, it may have appeared that she tested our wills, and won. However, behind the scenes, she had cleverly worked her magic and made sure that we eventually got what we wanted through other people in our lives.

Her final lesson was, "Things usually work themselves out in the end."

Tags: Granny and I talk about New Beginnings