Happy Grandparents’ Day!

About a month ago, I talked about my father’s mother, Nanny. In honor of Grandparents’ day, I’m going to talk about Grandma and Grandpa, my mother’s parents. They have both been positive rays of light in my life. From an early age, I grew to adore them, and that feeling has only gotten stronger. Here’s some of my favorite things about them.

Grandpa is mischievous.

Grandpa seems to always want to get into trouble. He’s seventy-eight years old, but he has the spirit of a man half his age (or any age). He likes going outside to work on his yard, even when it’s too hot for someone his age. We warn him all the time that this could make him sick, but that hasn’t stopped him. His family (including myself) are constantly encouraging him to let others help him out, but he just nods along, winks, and does the yardwork whenever he feels like it. And then, when we go to chastise him, he gets away with it with a cheeky grin.

I think that it has to do with his life before he retired. When I was little, I remember how Grandpa used to work the graveyard shift. He would work all night and then sleep all day. I would always have to be quiet whenever I came over to Grandma and Grandpa’s house to avoid waking him while he was asleep. However, after he retired, I found Grandpa to be much happier. He suddenly could enjoy some recreational leisure again. And he shared the joy he felt with others.

One of the things he likes to do besides working on his yard is fixing his car, an old Volkswagen. He worked hard at turning it from an antique fit to be scrapped to something beautiful and able to function on the road. He has worked hard on this for several years. Recently, he drove to my house in that bright red Bug, and, I have to be honest, he looked kind of cool. Through the sweat of his brow, Grandpa brought back a relic from another time into the modern world and made it look like it had been built yesterday. If he can do that, then he has every reason to be proud of the work he does. Perhaps one day he’ll take me out to eat with the Bug.

Grandma is like a second mother.

While Grandpa acts like the kind of fun uncle you’d see on television sitcoms, Grandma has always been like a second mother to me. I suppose my own mom gets her best qualities from her. When I was younger, Grandma always found time to take care of her grandchildren in spite of her working full time. She sewed up any holes we got in our clothes (there were always holes in my brother and I’s pant knees in need of fixing), and she could bake the best pastries.

This doesn’t mean that my Grandma is a pushover, no sir! You have to be pretty smart to help Grandpa out all the time, after all. She is no stranger to putting her foot down and giving us a stern talking to. Whenever we’d act up, she would always make sure we’d behave. That being said…

They both spoil us constantly

Both of them like spoiling their grandchildren. I suppose it’s a part of being a grandparent. They’ve sort of “done their time” raising their kids. They know that kids are in desperate need of someone who will just set them loose just as much as they need someone who will discipline them. Grandma and Grandpa provided the foil to my Mom and Dad that way. And while they didn’t allow total anarchy, they were a bit laxer with the rules than my parents were with us. Whenever my parents were out of town, they’d leave myself and my brother with my grandparents. It was wonderful.

Grandpa will give out money every time he sees myself or my brother. Even when we politely refuse, he’s pretty insistent. Although lately, I haven’t been refusing his offers as often, what with my being a poor college graduate and all. As of late, he’s been using the fact that I help him with his yard as an excuse to pay me, even though I’d just as gladly do it for free.

Grandma is no different from Grandpa in this regard. She’s an excellent cook, and she makes all of the best desserts you can imagine. Cookies, cakes, you name it, she did it (or at least, bought it from a store). And she is as sweet as her best desserts too. She would always be up for talking to you about your day and would listen to the stories you told. I’ve always felt so lucky to have both my grandparents doting on me.

It’s nice to have them in the neighborhood.

Once, my grandparents lived in downtown Houston. I remember their small, older house that existed only a few blocks away from the big city. Whenever I spent the night, I could hear a train rattling the house from my bedroom. It wasn’t a bad place, but it did mean that I didn’t see them often.

When my grandparents retired, they decided to move into a house just around the corner from my house. This made it easier for my parents to help my grandparents whenever they needed it and vice versa. Because of this, I get to eat out with them more often at my favorite Mexican restaurants. My mom and I also buy groceries for them whenever we go out (though since the Covid outbreak, we’ve been buying groceries for them online and delivering them to their house instead). And sometimes, I get to go over to their house for dinner, where I get to taste Grandma’s cooking and enjoy swapping news stories with Grandpa. Having your grandparents live close by is the absolute best.

I feel so fortunate to have my grandparents around. Not many people get to experience that. The blessings of a pair of loving grandparents is immeasurable. I love Grandma and Grandpa so much. Happy Grandparents’ Day!