Reba McEntire Calls Herself the ‘Invisible Grandparent’

Reba McEntire is a proud grandma, even if she doesn’t get to see her grandchildren very much. The country music icon, whose grandchildren come from the step-children she had with her now ex-husband Narvel Blackstock, include Kelly Clarkson‘s two children, River and Remy. But McEntire equally adores all of her grandkids, even if she doesn’t get to see them as often as she would like.

“I’m an invisible grandparent,” McEntire conceded. “Everybody is just going so fast, Chassidy and her family live in Houston. Kelly and Brandon, they’re in L.A., half the time longer there than they are in Nashville. And then Shawna and her daughter, Chelsea, are out in Gallatin, [Tenn.], but I never see any of them. So I guess I’ll see them around Thanksgiving and Christmas again like I did last year.”

One reason McEntire enjoys the holidays so much is so she can finally see her grandchildren. But although she certainly could afford to shower them with toys, McEntire refuses to spoil them.

“I’m not a spoiling grandma,” McEntire maintained. “Nope. I probably would if I saw them more often, but since I’m not, no I don’t.”

The 63-year-old might not spend a lot on her grandchildren, but her favorite holiday memories when her son, Shelby, was young, involve him opening plenty of presents.

“My favorite Christmas memory is having Shelby being so excited,” she recalled. “He would open gifts, and I’d say, ‘Shelby, who’s that from?’ And he’d look and he’d say, ‘I don’t know.’ He was like three years old. And I said, ‘Shelby, that’s from Santa Claus.’ He said, ‘Oh yeah, I forgot. He’s a really good guy.’”

McEntire might not have too much time to buy Christmas presents this year. The singer is back in the studio, working on what she promises to be a pure country album.

“It’s going to be probably the most country album I’ve ever recorded,” McEntire promised. “I don’t have a release date on it yet, but we have 13 songs already recorded, and we’ll go in and do some more if we find them. Loving it, just real country.”

McEntire is also considering a return to the small screen, although she can’t share any details yet.

“We’re working on more television things,” McEntire hinted. “We kind of got our toe in the door. Nothing I can speak about yet, because you never know what’s going to make it, and what’s going to stay on the typewriter, or the computer nowadays. But yes, we’re working on something, and I hope I can tell you about it real soon.”

The Oklahoma native is also spending part of the next few months in Las Vegas, along with Brooks & Dunn, for their co-headlining Reba, Brooks & Dunn: Together in Vegas residency. Find dates at Reba.com.

Photo Credit: Getty images/CBS Photo Archive