My sister's eldest boy liked nothing better than to sit on his grandfather's knee and have stories read to him. One day after a story about Noah's ark, and how Noah led pairs of animals to the safety of the ark, the little boy asked, "Granddad, you are very old, were you in Noah's ark?" "Gosh no", said Granddad. "In that case, how come you didn't drown when the flood came?"
"If nothing is going well, call your grandmother." Italian Proverb
"To reform a man, you must begin with his grandmother." Victor Hugo
The responsibility of being a grandparent is both humbling and challenging, but the rewards more than make up for it. That smile from your first grandchild and even the one from your last grandchild make it worth the trip.
Part of the joy of grand-parenting is simply the recognition of who and what you are. The following definitions and comments about grandparents come from children:
A grandfather is a man grandmother.
Grandparents don't have to do anything except be there when we come to see them. They are so old they shouldn't play hard or run. It is good if they drive us to the store and have lots of quarters for us.
When they take us for walks, they slow down past things like pretty leaves and caterpillars.
They don't say, "Hurry up."
They wear glasses and funny underwear.
They can take their teeth and gums out.
When they read to us, they don't skip. They don't mind if we ask for thesame story over again.
They know we should have snack-time before bedtime and they say prayerswith us every time, and kiss us even when we've acted badly.
"It's funny what happens when you become a grandparent. You start to act all goofy and do things you never thought you'd do. It's terrific." Mike Krzyzewski
"Nobody can do for little children what grandparents do. Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of little children." Alex Haley
To me, grandparents are a sign that God is Love. Our role is to go between the Kingdom of God and earth's kingdom. We are more than a praying machine. We have an obligation, and with the parents' help, we do pass on the wonderful news of God's love from one generation to the next.
A grandfather was telling his little grandson what his own childhood was like: "We used to ice skate outside on a frozen pond. I had a swing made from a tire that hung from a tree in our front yard. We rode our pony around the yard. We picked wild raspberries in the woods." The little boy was wide-eyed, taking all this in. At last he said, "I sure wish I'd gotten to know you sooner, Grandpa!"
