by Jenny Hansen

 

Grandparents Day is this Sunday, September 8th, and this is a nostalgia-filled topic at our place.

You see, nobody at our house HAS any living grandparents. But we still celebrate this holiday in honor of those we once loved and lost.

Hubby and I both adored our grandparents and would have loved for our daughter to have the same experience. At three years-old, she doesn’t know what she’s missing, but WE do. We know what wonderful human beings our departed parents were. We know how many times we’ve had questions that can no longer be answered.

That being said, we consider ourselves blessed with grandparent-y types for our daughter.

Seriously. Our cup runneth over with aunties, nanas, and surrogate grandparents. Our daughter gets to interact constantly with people older than us who love her. Some of them are friends, some are family, but all of them shower her with love and attention. I don’t know if she’d have had all those people step up if her grandparents were still alive to fill the role. I don’t know if her older cousins, great aunts and uncles would have worked as hard as they do to share her family history and traditions with her.

Growing up, my mama used to tell me:
It’s my job to teach you to live without me.

She couldn’t possibly have known she’d die when I was thirty-five. But, she was an oncology nurse who interacted with death on a daily basis and she knew that life is precious and time is fleeting.

Here is what I would do with my mother this Sunday if she were here:

1. Take a picture with both of us and my daughter. Pictures with multiple generations are precious.

2. Bake, anything at all.
My love of baking comes from my mother and I hope to share it with my daughter someday soon. There are family recipes that only I know how to make. Since I only get this one child, if she hates the kitchen I’m going to have to enlist my brother’s children to pass on the secret of my Grandmother’s Almond Roca.

3. Walk in the garden.
I’d give just about anything to stroll in my garden with my mother and my daughter (who’s named after her), planning the yard and smelling the flowers. My mama was a master gardener and I wish I’d asked her more questions.

4. Visit the ocean.
I’d love to walk on the beach with my mother, watching the waves lap against the shore. I live near the Pacific Ocean, so I have the ability combining this experience with a meal. But the real magic would be holding my mother’s hand and watching her play with her granddaughter.

Some links you might like:

• Here is a window into the fun that was my mother: The Almost X-Rated Garage Sale.
• Ideas on how to celebrate Grandparents Day.
• A website dedicated to grandparents.

Do you plan to celebrate Grandparents Day this Sunday? What is your favorite memory of your own grandparents? For the grandparents here, what is your favorite thing to do with your grandchildren? What traditions would you like to see carried on?

Continue the discussion or .

~ Jenny

 

About Jenny Hansen

By day, Jenny provides training and social media marketing for an accounting firm. By night she writes humor, memoir, women’s fiction and short stories. After 15 years as a corporate software trainer, she’s delighted to sit down while she works.

When she’s not at her personal blog, More Cowbell, Jenny can be found on Twitter at or at Writers In The Storm. Jenny also writes the Risky Baby Business posts at More Cowbell, a series that focuses on babies, new parents and high-risk pregnancy.

© 2013 Jenny Hansen. All content on this page is protected by copyright. If you would like to use any part of this, please contact me at the above links to request permission.