grandparents
Becoming a grandparent makes getting older something to look forward to - all the fun of parenting, without the hassle.
Meant To Stay Hid By SYML
It was in August before my junior year started in high school. My mother got a call from my Aunt that said " Grandma has collapsed from a stroke" I was in utter disbelief. Denial even. I kept saying to myself " Oh, she's fine! I highly doubt a stroke would take her down!" My mother immediately left the house to the hospital. I slept peacefully that night thinking that she is perfectly fine. The next day my sisters and I went to the hospital to visit her. walking into her room slowed time. Everything felt unrealistic, I see my aunt standing next to a hospital bed. Next I see my grandma, laying down eyes barely open until she sees us all. She awe's I expected to hear her voice tell us that shes perfectly fine. Nothing, she only awe's and looks at us with her eyes wide open. She can't speak nor move anything besides her left arm. Devastated I fake being strong for my family, hoping that no emotion gives my family support. That night that I came home crying silently I noticed one of my favorite musicians SYML came out with a new song. "Meant To Stay Hid" is a personal song about loss. Its that tangible and uncomfortable whole-body feeling that someone is gone. It's the reality that our memory of them will fade and change. But it's also the beautiful, yet unreasonable, hope that we will see them again" SYML says in the end of his lyric video of the song. I knew right then and there my grandma was lost. She will never return to the strong adventurous woman that was, with me on my day of birth. Day after day during school I would visit her in the hospital or in rehabilitation/ nursery home for elders. I would listen to the song every time we approached where she was staying. My family realized we had to clean out her home and take whatever we wanted and give away the place I basically grew up in, without her there to greet me and hug me whenever I would walk in her home. Finding notes and papers that were meant to stay hid from my eyes. millions of pictures of my dead father in what was his room. I and my mother mainly cleaned the house out having our laughs and cries at what she kept. For seven months I missed school on and off to visit her and cleaning out her house. I fell in a deep depression and failed many of my classes. She was an empty shell of someone I dearly loved. She cried non stop at times while I was there. In a diaper that had to be changed by the nurses ever so often. The day that my grandmother passed I visited her one last time. Held her hand saying my goodbyes and how much I love her even though she was barely responsive. That day she didn't open her eyes at all but only at me once. Her crystal blue eyes softly looked at me before closing forever. My grandmother lived for seven months only hearing her say " hi" and "yeah" to me once in all those days. We had a beautiful celebration of life for her at her favorite gardens in The Morton Arboretum. I made every flower arrangements for her with her favorite flowers. Hoping it would makeup for the times I didn't spend with her while she was well. Meant To Stay Hid put all my emotions and thoughts in my head in the most beautiful way possible. Everyday I wish I could see her face once more and hear her voice again.
By Lindsey Pietras6 years ago in Families
A Cathartic Adventure For The Soul
Sometimes leaving behind your routine and exploring the world is the catharsis you need to heal. My family originates from the main island in the Azores, Sao Miguel. We are a loud, passionate, and exuberant Portuguese family that finds joy in the beauty around us and in the connections we have to the world. We had always talked about traveling to the Azores together and attempted some plans, but being a large group full of conflicting schedules-it never panned out.
By Bee Hope Lavallee6 years ago in Families
True love
Do you think true love is real? Do you think someone could really stay with someone else forever, through all the bad and scary times? I never thought it could be true until I witnessed it with my own eyes. My grandparents have been married for 50 years. They are the cutest couple you will ever see. Their age doesn’t stop their love. They still take care of each other. They still want to make memories. Recently though we have not been able to go anywhere with them. My grandpa has been in and out of the hospital with pneumonia. That whole time my grandma stood by his side wherever he went and no matter what. As time went on he started to recover after days in the hospital. He finally gets to go home. A few weeks go by and we are starting to plan a small vacation for everyone to go on. My grandmas favorite place, the beach. She was so excited to get out of the house and be with her whole family. A couple years ago my grandma had taken in a stray cat that we had found on the side of the road. He was a very young and sick kitten. Had a bunch of bugs. After we had cleaned him up and gotten rid of his bugs she took him home and called him ki-ki. Like kitty kitty. She felt like she was always alone without a pet. She loved him. But of course, my grandpa was not a fan. Most men never at first. Eventually he came around like everyone else. The kitten didn’t like being indoors so he had to be an outdoor cat mostly. My grandma felt alone yet again. Now she is talking about getting a dog since they are known to get attached to their owners more. Weeks of us all talking and seeing if we should get her one, my uncle finds someone who is giving away chihuahua puppies. Without hesitation, he gets one for her and brings the little puppy home. She loved the little baby and he already loved her. He followed her everywhere. He was one of the tiniest puppies I have ever seen. We are all happy that she is happy again until one night my mom gets a call. You know it’s never good if it is at night. It’s my aunt telling us that my grandma had fallen down her stairs and broke her hip and was unconscious. We found out that her puppy has walked right underneath her and she tripped so she did not step on him. We were all freaking out hoping she was okay. We raced over to the hospital and waited for good news. My grandpa never left her side until he was no longer able to. Hours go by and we finally get the good news. She’s out of surgery. My grandpa rushes to her room and sits right next to her and without hesitation takes her hand and comforts her. Watching them together seeing how much they both cared for each other just hit me so hard. I was in photography class so I thought I could do something sweet with the situation. That’s when I took the first picture of them together. I eventually edited it over the days and it turned out perfect! After she recovered I surprised them both for Mother’s Day with the picture framed of them holding hands. It made her cry which made me cry. I will never forget this picture. It hits me so hard. I hope when I’m married my relationship is just like theirs. They have actually found their own true love, forever.
By Kyree Mueller6 years ago in Families
How Does Your Garden Grow?
During my childhood visitors to my grandmother’s home often wouldn’t stop at the front door. Instead they would head straight for the side gate that led to her back yard and grab hold to the opening latch. There they would fall silent and still as they carefully surveyed the area. Only the untrained visitor or the most foolish friends entered Nana’s back yard unannounced. Nana was known to have the near bipolar quality of being loving and generous to her friends and neighbors in one instant yet ready in the next to run them through with various garden implements if they infringed on the boundaries of her property. In particular, visitors to the back yard were seen as possible spies come to steal her gardening genius. This behavior was especially perplexing to new friends who no doubt had been told at some point and time to “Stop by and see my old piece of garden”, by none other than Nana herself.
By Terry Thomas6 years ago in Families
I Love You More Than All The Stars But I Worry
What surprised me most is how worried I was. I'd had my girls at age 29 and 33 and I never took a Lamaze class. Turns out they were both caesarean sections so that worked out. Still, I do not recall feeling worried. About anything. Ever. Not once during my own pregnancies.
By Maribeth Jones6 years ago in Families
Best Christmas Gift Ideas for Grand Moms
Have you ever thought of getting your grand mom a unique Christmas gift? Maybe a turkey air fryer or a pair of matched pajamas? Most of the time, we tend to think that other than the shopping you give to your grand moms, a Christmas card is the best complimentary gift you can add on top. It doesn’t have to be this way all the time; though they may be hard to please, there are unique gifts that can make them happy. These Christmas gift ideas can help you find something suitable for your grand mom this festive season.
By Nellie Rodriguez6 years ago in Families
Ramblings from the Soul
I had dinner the other night with a group of girlfriends who I met over 20 years ago. We all had sons in a Tiger Scout den and have been best of friends ever since. I am the youngest of us, but I started my family at the ripe old age of 19 while they waited until their 30s. The dinner conversation was mainly about dating. All of us are divorced, with the exception of one who is widowed. One of my friends even had a date prior to dinner and brought him into the restaurant to meet all of us before he went home. A year ago I would have been all up on this scene, but something warm and wonderful happened at the beginning of this year; I was gifted another granddaughter. I have two more granddaughters, ages 10 and 5. My oldest was born close by, but her parents were military and soon were stationed overseas. When the second baby was born, they lived out of state and have remained out of state. I guess I never got to fully experience the joy of really being involved as a grandmother until Quincy Rose came along. I was there all during her mama's pregnancy, and during the birth, and afterwards the two of them would come and spend the night once a week until my daughter went back to work. Now I babysit the little sugar plum nearly every Saturday. My other two granddaughters live just one state over now, so this year I've been able to visit them more than in the past and that has been wonderful too! There was a time not that long ago when I was concerned with finding a new partner, or obsessing over the current partner......I would say, “I’m not ready to settle into a rocker with knitting needles just yet!” After all, I just barely turned 55; I have a lot of life left to live! But sometimes things can shift without you even realizing what's happening. I used to get happy to get a text or phone call from my boyfriend. Now I text and ask if my grandbaby, who can't even talk yet, can FaceTime with me. If I don't see her for a week, it feels like a month. I used to look forward to date weekends with the boyfriend; now I look forward to surprising my granddaughters with a visit and seeing them run to me with hugs, smiles, and so much love! Or seeing Quincy Rose reach her hand out towards me while we are on FaceTime trying to touch my face as she likes to do. And I got to thinking: why is being a grandmother so much better than being a mom? All I can come up with is that when I was a mom, I had so much responsibility that having fun seemed to take a backseat. Now I get to have all the fun and not so much responsibility. I've learned not to take for granted those hugs, smiles, and moments staring into my granddaughters’ eyes. I'm not resisting being a grandmother anymore, I am falling gently in love with it. I'm spending more time with my own grandmother, who is a very active 93 years old, grateful that she is still with me and still healthy and active. There is something special about this generational coming of mothers and daughters. So special, in fact, that for Christmas I bought yarn, crochet hooks, and a book to teach my oldest granddaughter how to crochet. The rocking chair will have to wait though, not quite ready for that!
By Rev. Rachelle Daniels6 years ago in Families
Go See Your Grandparents
My Italian grandparents are 84. They're from another world, and a different time. Both of which don'y exist anymore. They had their honeymoon in the mountains of Italy, at my Nonna's sister farm. She said it was the best two weeks of her life.
By ashley sirianni6 years ago in Families
My Grandmother Life and How She Used to Live It
For a girl, what is being a bride today? Perhaps there is not much difference these days being a bride and being a girl before being a bride. Girls are demanding these days. They have their conditions when they want to marry.
By Mukesh Saini6 years ago in Families
A Look at Caregiving From the Inside
From the outside looking in, most individuals have no idea what it is like to become a caregiver. The caregiver and patient can go through many emotions such as loneliness, helplessness, guilt, stress, anger, resentment, fear, anxiety, grief, sadness, and depression for different reasons.
By Robyn Kade6 years ago in Families
