Aren't Grandparents....well Grand?

Last night, we ate dinner out with my parents at Mama Mia's, a restaurant about 2 miles from our house. It has become a ritual to eat out with them at least once a week. One of the main reasons why we moved back up to New London was so that Mackenna could be close to extended family. And for that, we are so glad we made the move back!

Mackenna loves spending time with Grandpa Ron and Grandma Fay. They have a bond that she has with no other persons on earth. They instantly fell in love with her from the moment she was born, and she with them. They almost seem to complete one another in some ways. Last night as we were leaving, Grandpa Ron started dancing with Mackenna. She laughed and hugged him, loving every moment of it. These are the memories she will have of her PaPa. Sweet, sweet moments she will look back on with love and fondness.

I know this because of the relationship I have had with my grandparents. Growing up, my Grandpa and Grandma Harlow were my next door neighbors. My Grandpa and Grandma Hendren lived about ten minutes away in Hannibal. It was an ideal relationship really. After school, I would go to Grandpa Raymond and Grandma Ruth's (Harlow) work place, which was a butcher shop. I would stand on a little stool and help my Grandma wrap meat and stamp dates on the packages. I loved every minute I spent there because I was spending time with two people I knew loved me. As I grew, I began to share things with my Grandma Ruth I did not share with anyone else. She would listen, without judgement, and only offer advice if I asked for it. Her home was a haven to me in many ways, and she was the hug bearer, the snack maker, and the encourager I needed most.

Holidays were extremely special to me because I spent them with all four of my grandparents. Until I was about nine, I never realized that other kids went to more than one house on holidays. I never did. My Grandma Margaret and Grandpa Hoyt always spent holidays with my Grandma Ruth and Grandpa Raymond. Between grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, and friends of the family, my grandparents' house would be busting at the seams during holidays. From big hams and turkeys to mincemeat pies (my Grandpa Raymond's favorite, not mine) to homemade rolls and applesauce cakes, we never went hungry at the holidays! We always got together at Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. I lived for those holidays as a child. I knew I would have fun while enjoying the conversation and laughter that would ensue. I know now how fortunate I was to have that!

Each week of my young life, my grandparents were a constant. Friday nights, we would often go to my Grandpa and Grandma Hendren's house for dinner. Grandpa would fry a whole chicken. We would have homemade mashed potatoes, green beans, and cole slaw to go along with it. And then the meal would be topped off by a pie. My favorite was the peanut butter pie topped with whipped topping; it was so yummy! My brother and I would always find toys to play with, paper to draw on, or an organ to pounce on. In the spring and summer, we would play in the yard long into the night. I so miss those moments now!

My Grandma Margaret is the only surviving grandparent I now have. My Grandpa Raymond died of cancer when I was 15. My Grandma Ruth died after battling emphysema when I was 19. Six months after that, my Grandpa Hoyt died. Life has just not been the same without them! I am so glad that God has blessed my life (and Mackenna's) with Grandma Margaret. She is that existing link for Mackenna to know just how wonderful her great-grandparents were.

I only wished Mackenna lived close to all her grandparents. There are so many things that she (and they) miss out on by having so much distance between them. The bond between children and their grandparents really is a unique one. It is one in which much love, much trust, and much fun exists.

"Our grandchildren accept us for ourselves, without rebuke or effort to change us, as no one in our entire lives has ever done, not our parents, siblings, spouses, friends - and hardly ever our own grown children." ~Ruth Goode