Those Who Make Our Lives GRAND!

Grandparents. Special older influences. The people that make you think, make you smile, make you slow down for a while. Front porch visits, a pack of nabs, a Pepsi, an episode of the Andy Griffith Show.

This coming Sunday we celebrate and honor, these very special people. And as I have experienced as a child, and as a Mommy and Aunt, I love children’s art no matter the occasion, I want to slow down and reflect on what really is so GRAND about the investments they make!

GUIDE with grace: The beauty of grandparents guidance is that they have experience. In the eyes of a child, it seems like they have so many years of life, that why would you question their wisdom? I can remember listening to my grandparents, and thinking, “wow, how do they know so much!” With one grandfather in Human Relations in a textile mill, one grandfather at the local Savings & Loan, one grandmother that worked at a hosiery mill and what we called “The Blouse House,” and one grandmother that came from a family in the furniture and textile business, there were a lot of lessons that I simply soaked in by sitting and listening. From how to apply for a job, how to show up for an interview, what not to do, how to keep the job, how to respect co-workers and bosses, to how to earn credit, open bank accounts, to leading with integrity.

RELATIONSHIPS: The overwhelming feeling that I was known, loved, and wanted in their presence. This is a gift for any child, in any circumstance, at any moment. But the fact that they were eager to see me, never too busy to stop what they were doing, and sit a spell. 😊 The other thing that made a huge impact was that they wanted to share me with their friends, and that I wasn’t considered a nuisance or a bother. This honestly, by far I believe has made and shaped me in so many ways. My brother and I went to breakfast with my Paw-Paw and Grandma when we stayed with them. They usually went to Hardee’s and it was usually the same group of people who gathered every morning. I’m sure that pinched our cheeks and told us how much we had grown. But the most important thing is that we learned to sit, eat, and have conversations with all ages. And yes, it was fun to know the Hardee’s Gossip 😊 because we had no clue what they were talking about until we got older. But I never remember them having to correct us, which I am sure they did, but not constantly, we just knew.

They introduced us to music, tv shows, movies, old and new. Country, Gospel quartets, Hymns, the list goes on. Wheel of Fortune, Petticoat Junction, Green Acres, Andy Griffith, and this list goes on. African Queen, Shirley Temple, Annie, Herbie, and this list goes on. Still all my favorites to this day!

ACQUAINTED: One thing that I believe is the hardest thing for grandparents currently is staying informed and aware of the new things that are daily being offered to kids. (I will give some links at the bottom of the page, that I have found helpful as a Mommy and Aunt, and my parents, as grandparents have also.) My grandparents were well-informed, by what I would imagine for the times. Honestly, I believe I developed a healthy sense of the media/news coverage from being at their houses. I personally take the motto of be proactive and informed, “prepared not scared.” I can run to Jesus with what scares me, He can prepare me with foreknowledge, and He will be in every step I take. And what can I say, I watched a whole lot of news when I had the opportunity to sit with them in the last months of their lives. (P.S. I will not debate which news channels – bc I flip through them all!) All this being said, I do have a love for being informed, educated, and aware. I miss my grandparents very much, but also extremely glad they are not having to watch the news these days. But to the grandparents, aunts, uncles, parents, friends who are, we do have hope! This is not all there is! And God’s Word and prayer should be #1 guidance, then I recommend you at least get a local news station app on your phone, a world news app too, and I will link resources of other ways of being informed about the digital and environmental world kids are facing at the end of this post. I encourage you to take a look.

NUTURE: I think most would agree, grandparents are very good at nurturing. If I couldn’t be in the care of my parents when I was sick, I didn’t want anyone else but my grandparents. And I had to have nebulizer treatments several times a day, from 3 months old until I began elementary school, and still had at least two a day. So the normal “going to the mall” meant taking a nebulizer, hose, mask, and medicine and finding a place that would allow us to sit for 20 minutes or so multiple times during our trip. Oh but good golly we were going to the mall! We had to get new matchbox cars and new baby dolls or clothes and maybe even a pocketbook! Who am I kidding, I always ended up with a pocketbook 😂 Chick-fil-a always had a place for us, we would get some nuggets, and we would go to the corner and plug in my nebulizer and do my treatment and watch everybody go by. I never thought anything about it was not normal. That’s nurturing at its best.

Not to mention the importance of the just-right-bandaid… This is very crucial and a very very serious conversation. And I am proud to say, I have inherited the love of all things just-right-bandaid and bandages.

DELIBERATE EXAMPLES: What they spoke, they lived out. Quality over quantity, from choosing friends to choosing clothes or shoes, the quality far outweighs the quantity. The greater the quality, the longer it lasts, the less you will need, the less you will need to replace. Another example the lived out, they didn’t just take us to church with them, we witnessed them reading their Bibles and asking questions. Which gave us the confidence to do likewise.

PLAY: Dolls, cars, school, house, beauty parlor, barber shop, imagination… on the floor, in the bathroom, in the kitchen, in the living room, in the garage, it was all for us to explore and play WITH them!

ANCESTRY: The richness of the stories, the heritage, the culture, and the lessons learned. The repetition that I begged for. Hearing their stories told over and over. Learning about “the good ‘ole days.” The multiple family lifestyles that each grandparent grew up in, no two the same. The blending of family, tradition, culture, what was worth compromise and what was not. What made and shaped who they became, and what they wanted for their own family.

ROLE: They are GRAND: splendid; monumental; honored; respected; well thought of; notable. They are PARENTS: to be or act as a parent to a child. When you put it together, you get a parent with a grand amount of experience that we should honor and respect and find notable.

EQUIP: I inherited the attitude of “don’t tell me I can’t.” Yep, comes in handy, and other times not so much. BUT it is something I gleaned from grandparents, since I was the only granddaughter, in my growing up years, I was determined to do anything the boys did. I asked for a drill from grandparents one year. I learned how to nail and drill from my Paw-Paw in his workshop, just as my brother and two cousins also had. I learned how to check tire pressure. How to pump gas. What the different types of gas meant. I learned how to check the oil. And to this day, if you tell me it can’t be done- you better believe I will try all the options before I admit I can’t! But those are the things grandparents have the time simply slow down and teach.

NEW GENERATIONS (PRAY): Prayers of generations. When I think about this, it takes my breath away. I am blessed to have the knowledge that my great-grandparents and my grandparents prayed for future generations. I also know many older friends that have prayed for generations. This is the most important, most influential, most earth moving thing you can ever do! We all can do!

TOYS: Tricycle. Baby dolls. Matchbox cars. Balls. Plastic Kid’s Pool. The simple toys are always found at your grandparents house.

SNACKS: It’s a MUST. You will always find your favorite snacks, candy, drinks, all of it at your grandparents house. It’s where it doesn’t matter if you eat popcorn for lunch. Simply because you are with your GRANDparents!

If you are a grandparent, I sincerely pray that you will be encouraged in all that you do and all that you are! Happy Grandparents Day! You are to be celebrated more than a day! You also deserve a day of celebration!

If you are an aunt, uncle, cousin, friend, mentor, I sincerely pray that you will read this and be encouraged in the way you influence the littles around you! You have a huge role just as much as a grandparent! I encourage you also to look at the resources below.

I am constantly telling my parents that I feel as if I have a brain full of information and research and resources, but I don’t know who needs them. And I simply have this brain full because I am a self-educating learner. So I don’t have any scientific findings or anything special, but I would love to help if I can! I don’t have a college degree or anything special. Just life experience. I am going to give some links to things I have found helpful in being informed and aware to the world around us, but if you have a further question, comment or email me at: [email protected]

If you have a resource to share, don’t hesitate to leave a comment.

Books of the week:

• There’s What on My Phone? by Lisa Taylor (Oil of Joy Press)
• Taming the Technology Monster: 8 Guiding Principles for Raising Digital Natives, by Sissy Goff
• Gender: A Conversation Guide for Parents and Pastors, by Brian Seagraves and Hunter Leavine

https://christiangrandparenting.com/free-resources/ Prayers to Pray for Children/Grandchildren

https://christiangrandparenting.com LOTS of resources and printables

https://grandkidsmatter.org Wide variety of articles

https://www.commonsensemedia.org Highly recommend the membership! If you like enjoying music, tv, movies with littles, this website is a HUGE help. It breaks everything down. With the membership you can make profiles for your kids, set age limits, violence, sex, language limits, and then it will suggest all types of media that is age appropriate for your child.