Grandparents’ Day is this weekend. I have some memories of this holiday, largely associated with my elementary school years. I remember that each year, the school would have a special lunch on Grandparents’ Day and we could each invite our grandparents to attend. Before the lunch, there were musical performances by each classroom and before Grandparents’ Day we would make special cards or pictures during art class to present to our grandparents. I remember that one or both of my grandmothers would attend the celebration each year.
I am sure that much has changed since I was in elementary school. Grandparents’ Day is still a holiday, though, and it is nice to reflect on all of the wonderful times that I shared with my grandmothers. Unfortunately, both of my grandfathers had passed by the time I was born so I never met them. Each of my grandmothers had different things at her house that I liked and different things that we would do together for fun. My father’s mother often took care of my other cousins, so we would all play at her house and watch her big television. She always had a candy dish, and she had a cute Boston terrier too. My mother’s mother had beautiful rose gardens at her house and a nice yard to play in. She would sometimes take us to a city pool to swim, or to the park to play. There was always ice cream in the freezer, and her pies, cookies, and other baked goodies were always delicious.
Now that I have a child, my parents and my husband’s parents are grandparents. Our son is only twenty one months old but her certainly knows and appreciates his grandparents. He has words for them, too. Both my mother and my mother in law are “Meh Meh”. When I want to know which one he’s talking about, I ask him whether he’s talking about G’Ma or Grammy Karen and he indicates which one with a nod of the head. He does not have a word for Grandpa Terry yet, but when I say “Grandpa Terry is coming to visit” he says “woof” because Grandpa Terry has a dog. My father is his Papa Jim, which he pronounces “Baaaapa”. Each of them has a special place in his heart already. Grammy Karen has a store and she buys hot dogs for him, which he absolutely loves. Grandpa Terry has a dog and lots of tools. G’Ma has a cat and often goes shopping with us. Papa Jim likes to play ball, go to restaurants, and takes us on vacation to the beach. I am sure that as my son grows, his involvement with each of his grandparents will grow and become even more wonderful. I have wonderful memories of my grandparents and I am happy to say that my son will have wonderful memories of his grandparents too. This Grandparents’ Day, make sure that the grandparents in your life know just how much they mean to you.
Photo by iphis on morguefile.com.