Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Grandparents and Grandchildren

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There is a special bond that grows between grandparents and their grandchildren. I have experienced it on both ends.

Unfortunately, the only grandparent I knew was my dad's mother. All my others were deceased by the time I came along. Granny Campbell, Dad's mom,  passed away the year I turned 14, in February prior to my May birthday. I knew her best by playing at her house with my cousins, who lived with her, some right near her home. In fact, she took care of some of them quite often, and helped raise three of them.

My mom and dad had a close relationship with all their grandchildren. My daughters and I lived with them for several years. My own grandchildren I feel a real bond with, because we visited and spent lots of time together. Dubby and I took a trip to Disneyland in Florida with two of them; I spent several weeks caring for another grandchild, spent time living with some of them.

The great-grands are also close and we spend as much time together as possible. Their parents, my grands, provide me with opportunities to be with them.

I am very blessed. Would you like to share some experiences you have had?

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

I was blessed with two full sets of grandparents and a great grandmother. My Dads parents lived on the other side of our split house and Moms parents were about a half hour away so I had lots and lots of grandparent interaction. They were such different people from each other. Dads parents were farm people and Moms were town people. Same values though. I was well into my thirties when I lost my last grandparent.
Our first grandchild and our daughter lived with us for the first year and a bit of his life..we are very bonded and attached with him...the second we made sure to have a lot when she was tiny so we could have the same closeness. Now we see see them practically every day as we are only a ten minute drive away.
What a nice thing to be reminded of first thing in the morning. I'll be smiling all day now.

Donna said...

There is nothing like grand-parenting! I am blessed with three beautiful grand babies and it seems they are more endeared to my heart as each day passes. Thanks for sharing your stories...I'm enjoying them!

Donna
www.fullmeasureofjoy.com

Unknown said...

That is so beautiful! Both of my maternal grandparents were deceased before I was very old, but I'm especially close to my paternal grandpa =)

Arlee Bird said...

Since we live kind of far from them I didn't see my grandparents much when I was a child and consequently never got to know them as much I would have liked. Now it looks like I'm in the same situation. I now have 4 grandchildren with another due in July and they're all so far from me that I'm lucky if I get to see them once a year. That may get more difficult as I get older and have less money and possibly can't take trips like that anymore.

Maybe I can move closer to them after my wife retires in a few years.

Arlee Bird
A to Z Challenge Co-host
Wrote By Rote

Grammy said...

Thank you all for your comments. I value each comment greatly. On "R" day, I have a special story to share about some of my great grandchildren. Isn't it amazing how much influence grandparents can have . My dad provided being a male influence in my daughters' lives, because their dad and I were divorced. there was nobody to them like their grandpa.

Grammy said...

Arlee, I'm sorry you are so far away from your grands, and hope you can remedy that soon. The only reason that I am physically close to mine is the fact that I moved to Texas five years ago. Are you a Facebooker? That is not the ideal way, but it helps. Being close to mine helps with getting time with the great grands as well. 😄

Carrie-Anne said...

I'm so lucky I had all four grandparents well into adulthood, and that five out of eight great-grandparents were alive when I was born. A sixth great-grandparent, my mother's maternal grandma, unexpectedly passed away of a heart attack two months before I was born and had been really looking forward to meeting me. All these years later, I still have fond memories of going over to visit my great-grandpap Ben, since he always had a jar of candy on the coffee table. I also have fond memories of Sunday afternoon lunches by my paternal grandparents, though those lunches became a bit awkward after I became a vegetarian and no longer could eat their meat or gravy. They were from the old school and couldn't understand how anyone could be vegetarian, let alone be healthy without meat.

Arlee Bird said...

Facebook is the way I do keep up. My daughters fortunately post things fairly regularly so I'm able to keep up that way. Otherwise I'm rarely on FB.

Arlee Bird
A to Z Challenge Co-host
Tossing It Out

Grammy said...

Carrie-Anne, you make me smile. I love my gravy, biscuits, and meats, as well. Yep, being 82 in about a month makes me old school, also. No doubt about it. Thanks for your comment.

Arlee, I guess I'm on FB quite a bit, but not as much as I used to be.

Doreen McGettigan said...

I have 13-grandkids and my husband and I love spending time with them and creating memories with them. We recently took 5 of them to Florida to visit with my mother who was still struggling to find a new normal after losing my Dad.
Grandkids are such a blessing!

M Pax said...

I had three grandparents whom I think of often. Many, many fond memories.

Untethered Realms / MPax

Barbara said...

I dont recall any of my grandparents.They were all deceased before I was borned.I always tell kids if you have grandparents enjoy them because not everyone had them.And I really enjoy mine.

Grammy said...

Doreen, I remember how difficult it is to find a new focus when a mate dies. Mine passed on nearly five years ago. Bless you and your Mom.

M Pax and Barbara, we are all truly blessed to have grandchildren, aren't w?