There’s a funny thing that happens when you become a grandma. One minute you’re listening to the same music you listened to in high school, ordering something from Amazon at 10 p.m., and wondering how 1995 was somehow more than a few years ago. 

The next minute someone hands you a baby and calls you Grandma. Wait. What? 

For a lot of Gen X women, becoming a grandma is an incredible milestone. There’s excitement, pride, love and maybe just a tiny bit of disbelief. 

Because somewhere along the way, we developed an idea of what a grandmother was supposed to look like. And it probably looked a whole lot older than we feel. 

This Isn’t Our Grandmother’s Version of Grandma

We grew up with grandmothers who often seemed firmly planted in adulthood. 

They had their routines. Their recipes. Their particular chair. 

Meanwhile, today’s Gen X grandma may still be working, traveling, running a business, going to concerts, wearing jeans and sneakers, learning TikTok against her better judgment, and still wondering what she wants to be when she grows up. 

We don’t necessarily feel “old enough” to be grandmothers. And maybe that’s because becoming a grandmother isn’t actually about becoming old. It’s about becoming something new.  

You Don’t Lose Yourself When You Become Grandma

Women spend much of their lives collecting identities. 

Daughter. Friend. Wife or partner. Mom. Professional. Caregiver. Business owner. And then Grandma, Mimi, Gigi, Nana or whatever name eventually sticks gets added to the list. 

But here’s the important part: The new title doesn’t erase all the others. You are still you. 

You still have dreams that have nothing to do with your children or grandchildren. 

You still get to travel, create, work, rest, change your mind, start something new and figure out what you want the next chapter to look like. 

Grandmotherhood isn’t the closing chapter. It might be one of the best plot twists yet.  

Maybe Being Grandma Gets to Look Different

Our generation has never been particularly good at doing things simply because that’s how they were always done. 

We were the kids who stayed outside until the streetlights came on. We made plans without group texts. We survived school pictures without filters. And somehow we managed entire friendships before anyone could “like” them. 

So maybe it makes perfect sense that we’re redefining grandmotherhood too. 

Maybe Grandma wears concert T-shirts. 

Maybe Mimi has tattoos. 

Maybe Gigi starts a business at 55. 

Maybe Nana travels with her girlfriends. 

Maybe Grandma keeps airplane bottles of fireball in her purse and they’re for herself. 

There isn’t one correct way to enter your Grandma Era.  

The Best Part About This Chapter

Your children needed you to raise them. Your grandchildren get a slightly different version of you. 

They get the woman who has lived enough life to know that the little things really are little. 

The woman who knows that dishes can wait. That cookies before dinner occasionally won’t ruin anyone. That being present matters more than being perfect. 

And perhaps most importantly, they get to know YOU. 

Your stories. Your humor. Your traditions. Your music. Your quirks. Your wisdom. That’s something worth celebrating.  

Welcome to Your Grandma Era

So if you’re becoming a grandma and wondering why you don’t suddenly feel like the image of “Grandma” you had in your head, good. 

You aren’t supposed to become someone else. You’re simply adding another beautiful piece to the woman you already are. 

Call yourself Grandma, Mimi, Gigi, Nana or invent something completely different. 

Wear the title proudly. Just don’t confuse it with getting old. 

You’re not getting old. You’re getting another story to tell. 

And this one might be pretty amazing.  

And if you want to capture all your stories for your grandchilden, here's a Personalized Prompt Journal to help highlight all your adventures.