One on one with Granmommie...
My wife Marty and I celebrated Mothers’ Day early. This weekend, one of our daughters gave Marty a loving and special gift—a weekend with our grandchildren. It reminded us both of summer visits at our own grandparents’ homes where we learned new skills, learned to help with chores, and have fun spending quality time with them. At those times we felt like we became part of our grandparents’ lives, and we joined in the preparation of meals, the trips to the store, and the watering of gardens. This year we re-learned what a true blessing it is to have the grandparent-grandchild relationship. It is not one that we all get to enjoy.
For many years, my wife and I lived a distance away from our children and grandchildren. Quality time spent with our loved ones was rare. Since Marty and I were fortunate to spend much time with our own grandparents while growing up, we knew the value of those visits. Each experience created cherished memories filled with fun and learning. For Marty her visits entailed learning to crochet, learning to bake fruit cobblers, and appreciating occasional trips to the icehouse to enjoy sweet watermelons in season. For me, my visits consisted of evening starwatching with my grandfather who taught me all the constellations, lessons which were embellished with accompanying mythology for the naming of Leo, Capricorn, and Sagittarius. From my grandmother, I remember learning the alphabet and the multiplication tables… in Spanish. In comparing our visits with our own grandparents, my
wife and I realized that even inspecting old shoeboxes full of mementos and photos gave us a love of passing on our family histories. Our love of storytelling undoubtedly came from our respective grandparents.
I wonder how well—or how poorly—our own grandchildren will be able to remember their own visits with grandparents. From my wife’s point of view, she cherishes the special times she spends with her grandchildren. She considers this one a Happy Mother’s Day!
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