Nannie

[sparklymouse]

^I have no problem with grandparents who just want to be grandparents. Way too many kids in the US are being raised by their grandparents because their parents don't have their acts together. If Nannie was the type who wanted to see her grand kids once a week for some fun time then more power to her. It wasn't her job to give out free baby-sitting or financial support. Who knows if Elizabeth would have worked so hard to get so high career-wise if she had relied on her mother to bail her out.

[oldhickory]

^ i never thought of it that way. i always admired how elizabeth worked so hard to provide for her kids (early on). it's hard to imagine that she wouldn't have done that if nannie had been there. i have never been a fan of nannie because i felt like she should have done more for elizabeth and the kids after patrick left, but you make a good point. whatever the reason, her decision not to become more involved probably made elizabeth a better mom.

[wenonah4th]

Amen, sparklymouse! My in-laws have the majority of the raising of our 9-y-o nephew. They live under oneroof. The upside is tht my inlaws can afford to send him to a Christian school, which is far better thgan being in public school. On \the other hand it gets really awkward when we're all together, They're trying to be parents to Nephew, and regular grandparents to our little ones, at the same time!

[zoar3]

To be fair, we never were told what if any involvement Nannie had in the lives of the Thomas kids prior to her becoming Emily's main parent. I just have always thought, maybe assumed, if she had been more involved, Kristy's Portrait might have told us so. But then there was no chapter on Patrick's leaving either, so who knows.

I think Nannie had the most potential when she met the TB's at the airport following SS#1 and Kristy was going to tell her about Mr. Staples. I wish we had gotten to read that convo and if Nannie had ever called him or more likely Kristy and he had corresponded.

[psychoseal]

I know this is an old thread but when does Nannie move in with the Brewers - is it during an LS bok because I never read it happening

[anzuhana]

^ I looked at the Complete Guide of the BSC and it says that Nannie moved in in the book Claudia and the Sad Goodbye on page eight.

[psychoseal]

Just read the bit in my copy. You would have thought it would have gotten more than 2 lines considering Aunt Cecilia got a whole book...

[zoar3]

^Cecelia is a "mean dictator," where as Nannie is a super-cool "not your ordinary Grandmother." An interesting twist might have been had Nannie declined to move in or if once she had done so changed her mind. I don't just mean temporarily either like in Kristy and Mr. Mom. I will always wonder (I don't think either Watson or Elizabeth knew or had a plan) just what they told the adoption agency regarding their plan for Emily's long term care during the workday. IIRC, Nannie was just the "convenient" answer.

[psychoseal]

I thought in Kristy and the Mothers day surprise they were considering hiring a Nannie

[zoar3]

^Were they or did that just come up in "Mr. Mom" after Nannie bailed? Maybe they talked about finding a nanny and then one of the kids said "Why don't we ask Nannie to come move in?"

[virgoscorpio]

I wanted to add in my 2 cents about Nannie, especially in relation to the events in Kristy and Mr. Mom. A lot of members wonder why she even bothers to take care of the house, and I can really understand that question because it seems like a big responsibility. But I think I know why she moved out in the first place. Nannie in this book reminded me a lot of my Nana. My sister and I were raised by my Grandparents, and I always thought that the universe did that intentionally not just to help my sister and I, but also my Grandparents. It kept them active and focused. And when my Popa started getting dementia, the fact that my Nana took after him for a while gave her a purpose and something to focus on, kind of like Nannie. When my Popa went into a home, that's when my Nana started to deteriorate.

Someone as active as Nannie probably LIKES having a household to look after. My Nana is the exact same way. Sure they complain and get tired, but it kind of fuels them -- and also something they're good at. I think being more active kind of takes the "oldness" away. She's probably stubborn, like my Nana, and didn't want to admit that and -- as she mentions in Mr. Mom -- didn't think the family needed her because she made up all of these "poor me" stories in her head OR truly thought Watson should take over and look after his kids.

[Honeybee]

I like Nannie. She's cool grandma. Like taking Karen & her friends to the store, so they can look at the gossip magazines.

[bscfan1997]

I like Nannie a lot. She's a mix of the "cool" grandma with the pink clinker and the bowling and shopping, and the "normal" and "old fashioned" grandma with the baking cookies and knitting. I love how close Kristy and Nannie were early on before Emily came along.

[m0drnmoonlight]

Sept 24, 2010 17:42:47 GMT -5 zoar3 said:

To be fair, we never were told what if any involvement Nannie had in the lives of the Thomas kids prior to her becoming Emily's main parent. I just have always thought, maybe assumed, if she had been more involved, Kristy's Portrait might have told us so. But then there was no chapter on Patrick's leaving either, so who knows.

I think Nannie had the most potential when she met the TB's at the airport following SS#1 and Kristy was going to tell her about Mr. Staples. I wish we had gotten to read that convo and if Nannie had ever called him or more likely Kristy and he had corresponded.

I know this is an old comment and correct me if I'm wrong but in Kristy's Portrait, doesn't she devote a whole chapter to Patrick leaving? I haven't read it in awhile but I definitely remember Kristy talking about how one day her dad just left and she had a ton of questions Elizabeth just couldn't answer. Then she talks about Elizabeth getting a job to support the family. Though I will add, I don't remember anything about Nannie helping out