grandparents

Becoming a grandparent makes getting older something to look forward to - all the fun of parenting, without the hassle.

Dear Grandpa
Dear Grandpa, You are an Aquarius just like me - calm, optimistic, and a self-sufficient introvert. I remember you telling me that if I was ever in a meaningless argument or fight, to simply turn around and walk away. And I listened, maybe a bit too well.
By Dovile Miliauskaite4 years ago in Families
If It Wasn't For You.
Dear Grandmother, I wanted to write you this letter to let you know how much you have impacted my life. If it wasn't for you where would I be? Or maybe I should be asking, who would I be? All those years of hard work, sleepless nights, and exhaustion, only for you to make sure that my brother and I are being raised in a way she would've wanted. You know who I mean when I say she. Yes, my mother. My mother who was taken away from me at the young age of two. As the saying goes, "it takes a village to raise a child", well you, my dear, were my village. The greatest impact I had in my life came from you. You raised me, taught me wrong from right, showed me what love is, and most importantly sacrificed everything for me. However, no matter how much I write, I will never be able to explain how grateful I am. You filled in a gap that could never be filled. I was young when mum passed away, but as I started to grow up, I missed her, I yearned for her touch, and I longed for her presence. You were the only one that understood this feeling as you mourned your daughter's death every day. You had a way to make all the pain go away, all the heartache, and the grief. The way you raised me and the things you taught me shaped my life and made me who I am today. That's why I continue to ask, who would I have been without you? As a woman, you showed me what strength is, you showed me what love means, and you showed me what self-respect looks like. I grew up with you having daily conversations about the importance of family, our culture, traditions, and most importantly love and forgiveness. You taught me how to forgive, how to understand others, how to interact with people, and how to respect different cultures. You made sure I always did my homework properly and got the highest grades at school. You always made sure I was well-dressed, well-fed, and well looked after. You shaped the me that I am today. I ask who I would've been without you because I know that there is not one person on this Earth that would've loved me like you did, cared for me like you did, raised me the way you did, or respected me as you did. You showed me how to live, how to prioritise, how to be strong, and how to adapt. I lost you on the 13th of September 2020 but I gained another angel. You passed away and I was overseas, I didn't get the chance to properly say my goodbyes. Your passing was one of the toughest and cruellest experiences in my life. I think of you every day. I am grateful for everything you've ever done for me, I am grateful for you, I am grateful to have had you in my life, and I am most grateful to have been able to be a part of your life. You took me in when I was a broken little child and raised me to be a strong and resilient young woman, and for that again I say I am grateful. You used to drive me to school every day and back, take me to my dance classes, and pick me up from friends' houses. The reason why you out of all people impacted my life the most is that you taught me how to love and how to sacrifice for love. To me, that is one of the most valuable things I learned in life. I hope and pray that one day I can become a small piece of the lady you once were. I miss you, I appreciate you, and I love you.
By Talia Halime4 years ago in Families
What Can Parents Do When Grandparents Get Too Involved in Raising Their Children?
What can parents do when grandparents become overly involved in raising their children? For the child, having loving grandparents, present and involved in his life is a positive thing; for parents, however, it can sometimes be extremely irritating and stressful.
By Charlton Thornton4 years ago in Families
A yarn about my granda
Granda wasn’t a huge football fan. Not in the sense that he would go and stand on terraces every week, singing and chanting, but he had a real interest in the stories and narrative around the sport.
By Liam Tunney4 years ago in Families
My Brave Grandmother.. Top Story - February 2022.
There are times throughout the day that you can be reminded of loved ones who have passed. Perhaps it's the smell of a certain perfume, or a song on the radio but at some point, it happens. To me, I am reminded of my grandmother often. She played and still plays a big part of my life. It's been eight years since she left and it feels like it just happened. Grandma, thank you for being you and for helping mold who I am today.
By Elsa4 years ago in Families
My Grandfather: A Man Ahead of His Time
If life is a test of compassion, then my grandfather excels. I often wonder who he could've been, if he'd allowed himself to be unquestioningly moulded by his environment.
By L. O'Shea4 years ago in Families
Satellite Savior
It was a week before what would have been my grandfather’s eightieth birthday, and he was finally up at the pulpit. A somber delegation of a few hundred people occupied the pews in front of him. His entire family sat in a special section off to the side with pages open to verse in our laps. The ceremony would have run its course seamlessly had we not created the spectacle of howling like a pack of irreverent dimwits before Pa was even in the ground. Bemused mourners looked from their hands to my grandfather’s corpse to the television screen behind the casket, indecisive as to where their gazes belonged. Certainly not on us. Tears collected in the creases of four generations of crow’s feet and dripped onto our fingers as we unsuccessfully tried to use them to mask our smiles. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 was lost in an indistinguishable chorus of sniffles, giggles and gasps. The time to weep and the time to laugh had collided in a post-mortem flux, characteristically commemorating the life of Cecil Burl Grist.
By April Grist Rhodes4 years ago in Families
Dear Nana
There are many things a grandmother does in her lifetime, some expected and others more extraordinary. You, my one and only Nana, fall on the latter end of the scale.
By Summers Rose4 years ago in Families
A letter to my Hero, my late Poppy
When I think of love, I think of you and Nanna. You, so eternally positive and strong, never leaving when the going got tough. Instead, you would walk over an hour to that nursing home, every single day. And God forbid you missed a day, she would have been devastated. Which is just a testament to how much she loved you too. And as your memory began to fade, one thing remained the same – your cherished memory of her. When I think of love, I think of your forever friends, your neighbors – Peggy and Charlie, and how you brought your grave plots beside each other. Laughing at the fact you’ll now be neighbors in life and death. Because love is spending eternity together in any way you believe possible. Love is, collecting all your spare change in a money tin and splitting it between your grandchildren.
By Amelia Michels4 years ago in Families
My Scottish granny
Granny My maternal grandmother, my granny, was born 116 years ago today, in 1906, in a small village in Dumfriesshire, Scotland.
By Sarah Matthew4 years ago in Families
For Poh Poh . Top Story - February 2022.
Before the stroke Everyday when I look at my arm I am reminded of my grandmother. The jade bangle that lays heavy on my wrist makes me think of her. I haven’t taken it off once in the three years I’ve had it. It was hers, and now it’s mine.
By Geri Chan-Blackburn4 years ago in Families
Why Don’t We Just Talk About Loneliness?
Loneliness and social isolation are silent killers, according to the statistics. Health studies suggest that social isolation is as bad for you as obesity or heart disease and that loneliness can be as damaging to your health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
By James Garside4 years ago in Families