Gloria Bratton is a factory worker in Roanoke Valley and has seven grandchildren. Her tutor, Elizabeth Robinson, is a Roanoke native and an avid reader. She has eight grandchildren.

The joy of being a grandma brings excitement to the heart, much different from when you gave birth to a new life. You tend to let grandchildren get away with more things. Grandmas are more sensitive toward a grandchild.

We make excuses for their behavior. I'm a grandma of seven grandchildren and they all call me ma'ma. This bubbles my heart. I think of them as precious pearls.

I have four boys and three girls. The girls like to mama the younger boys. They want to treat them like their doll babies. They like doing all the motherly things of putting on their clothes and giving them a bath. With the younger boys, the girls can pretend to be a real mother, the same way they take care of their doll babies, but we caution them not to handle the boys so they won't get hurt.

They all like my attention at the same time. My second youngest grandson can't make complete sentences, so he will go and pull out all his toys to get my undivided attention. He knows I will stop what I'm doing to get him to pick up the extra toys and play with just one.

Grandmas are special to grandchildren because they think we can do anything, like change decisions that their parents have already made. My reply to them is, "Did you ask your parents?" and always the answer is, "Yes, but Ma'ma can we?" Grandmas are sometimes put in the middle of grandchildren and parents.

This is the joy of being a grandparent that I wouldn't trade for all the money in the world.