Sunday is a very important holiday and some of you may not even know about it. It is National Grandparents Day. My oldest grandchild just turned 6 in August and she has a brother and a sister now. Can I just say, these are three of the most important people in the world?
“Your children are your rainbows and your grandchildren are your pot of gold.”
One of the saddest things though is that our grandchildren live a few states away.
On one of our visits, I had brought a yo-yo to the grandkids and one of the kids couldn’t get the yo-yo to go up and down, but he is an intelligent child (takes after his grandfather), and invented a new way to play with it. He had me get down on all fours, put it in front of me and began walking around the room saying, “Come on puppy.”
Of course, I became a dog.
“Grandchildren, my favorite hello and my hardest goodbye.”
Vicki and I have fond memories of our grandparents, who aren’t here any longer. Many of them have been gone for a long time, but they helped to shape who we are today. Their influence lives on through us.
The grandchild/grandparent relationship is a special one and can benefit the child in many ways.
Grandparents can be a source of security to the child. We knew our grandparents loved us and would listen to whatever we said and wanted to spend time with us. They would play games with us, let us talk and showed us some cool things we didn’t know how to do.
Whether you live close by or far away you can bond with your grandchildren.
Frequency of contact is important, so the grandchildren know who you are and what role you play. Now, as I have already said, our grandkids don’t live close, we have to fly to visit and don’t get to do this as much as we would like.
We use facetime, text pictures and messages, send gifts and have a regular Zoom Meeting with all our family to stay in touch. We schedule it and call it Jenkins Junction. It is where we all get together and catch up on what is happening in our lives to strengthen our bond.
If you live close you could have a family dinner every Sunday, a regular vacation time in the summer, whatever works for you, but schedule it so time doesn’t slip away from you.
Our daughter-in-law is great about sending cute pics, quick stories of the things the kids said or did and that helps us to know what is happening almost day to day in our grandkids lives. It creates connection, the one thing grandparents crave.
One of the happiest days of Vicki’s life was when our granddaughter called her on the phone for the first time because she wanted to talk to Grammy. Sigh!
Show an interest in whatever is important to the grandchild.It may mean playing with action figures you didn’t know existed, or listening to a not too concise explanation of the latest video game. Being present is what matters.
Part of the fun of being a grandparent is getting to spoil the kids occasionally. Remember though to be respectful of how your kids are raising your grandchildren. They don’t need your opinion on every issue.
And most importantly, your job as a grandparent is the same as it was for their parents, love them no matter what and even if…
That is my promise to my grandchildren, I will love you always, no matter what and even if…
Grandpa Paul