Celebrating Grandparents Day

People on Sunday spent the day with their families celebrating "National Grandparents Day." According to A.A.R.P., there are more grandparents living in the United States now more than ever! The latest census shows that there are 70 million grandparents in the United States, which is a 24% increase since 2001.  A.A.R.P. calls this the "Grandparent Boom" era.

Some of us are lucky enough to know all their grandparents, while others may know one or two.  In my life, I have been fortunate to know three of my grandparents.  However, I also knew two of my great-grandparents and one of my great-great-aunts from my dad's side.  I really had great relationships with all three of them because they lived just a few blocks from my house.

I don't remember much of my dad's grandma, Christine.  But I do remember going on walks with her through the bike path.  She also made a pillow for my sister and me one year for our birthday.  It has a little bear on it and it's fluffy.  My great-grandma Christine started to lose her memory, but she always remembered to call on our birthday and that meant a lot.

My great-grandma and great-great-aunt are the two beautiful women in the picture.  My sister and I called them "G.G" and "Auntie."  G.G was my dad's grandma and Auntie was his great-aunt. We would visit them almost everyday and ate dinner together every Friday night.  G.G and Auntie even quizzed us on our spelling words before a test.

We did everything with them, which is why not having them around is tough.   G.G lived to be 99 and Auntie lived to 98.  They both passed away within 2 months of each other in 2011.  Katie and I were freshman in high school at the time.  We miss them all the time.  But we will always have our memories with us.  That goes for great-grandma Christine as well.

What are some of your favorite memories with your grandparents or great-grandparents?

Source: A.A.R.P.