I was a lucky kid growing up because I got to experience all four of my grandparents.
They were loving, funny and had a million stories. I even got to know my Great-Grandfather on my mom’s side.
My grandparents loved being in love and loved being married. In fact, my grandmother on my mom’s side loved being married so much, she did it again and again and again!
My grandparents on my dad’s side, however, spent their lives together from childhood, and theirs was a Norman Rockwell love affair.
My grandmother (on my dad’s side) was the shortest of our entire family and the first steppingstone for the grandchildren as we grew older and taller. To show their gentle sense of humor, my grandmother would get on her tippy toes to kiss my grandfather’s cheek, and he would get on his so she couldn’t reach.
He would call her Mama, and she would call him Papa and they held hands when they watched TV. A treasured memory I will always hold dear involved them, that TV and bird binoculars.
One summer, long ago, my mom and I went “downtown” to the Piggly Wiggly to get groceries. After checking out, she suggested that we visit Grandma and Grandpa in their apartment, about a block away.
I said an enthusiastic “yes.” When we arrived and knocked on their door, there was no answer, but we knew they were there because we heard the TV in the background.
Mom had a key and we snuck in to see them sitting in rocking chairs holding hands and watching TV. In my grandfather’s other hand was a pair of binoculars held tightly to his face as he watched his show!
We never understood why he did that because he could see pretty well, but it was such a funny scene. I’ll never forget it.
I miss my grandparents. I learned so much from them.
What I learned most from them was that the bond between two people could last a lifetime if you could fill it with laughter and love. Same for my family, wife Hanna, and my little Birds – Haylie, Hayden & Starling.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
