Remembering What We Learned From Grandma

Grandparents Day was last Sunday. It’s been a special holiday since 1978. Unlike the Fourth of July, though, I don’t think there is a lot of bang and spark associated with this holiday. 

The goal of instigating Grandparents Day was to urge, merge, and encourage older and younger generations to share wisdom, perspectives, and life lessons.

It didn’t take a special holiday for me to seek out my grandmother’s wisdom or her company. I liked Grandma. 

During my first eight years, we lived in the same town as my maternal grandparents, and Grandma was a central character in my life. 

It was a special treat to spend the night at her house. As the sixth of seven kids, time with Grandma slowed everything down—enough for me to taste and savor her grand parenting. 

I have small but significant memories of the clean smell of Dial soap in her bathroom, the feel of the thick rubber mat on the floor in her kitchen, and how she held my chin in her hand to gently wipe food from my mouth after a meal.  

I didn’t know how much she meant to me until we moved away. When we returned five years later, she was still the same stalwart woman I remembered. 

Grandma loved me as a teen in the same way she’d loved me when I was a tyke. I no longer spent the night with her; rather, we’d spend afternoons sitting on her front porch swing.

She was the safest adult in my life. My cussing, smoking, or sarcasm did not cause her alarm. She knew, but did not mention, that I was trying different things on for size to see if they’d fit. Eventually, I understood that too.

Grandma is the one who told me that someday I’d have to forgive my dad for all the pain he’d caused me. I did not understand at the time what she said meant, but later in life I did. 

I attribute my ability to run an efficient household, cook delicious meals, and bring out the best in others to Grandma.  

Why Bother?

Why bother remembering what we learned from Grandma? The lessons of Grandma’s life are preserved not just in memories, but in the written word so others may learn too.