What did you learn from your grandparents?

Karen99

Karen99

Senior Member
Location
California
I was fortunate to have been close to my paternal grandmother. She made the biggest, toughest pancakes you ever saw..but I loved her for her laughter and fun. She loved to dress up and primp and take me out for lunch. We watched movies all night (she fell asleep sometimes..lol). She had problems...constant worry and she would cross her legs and swing her right leg back and forth when she was worrying..

When I got older I made her egg custard and took her to the podiatrist...her feet always bothered her. The thing she gave me was her undivided attention and her undying love. She taught me how to enjoy life with her open attitude...I would teach her dances I did when I was a teen..she would show me hers. My grandma was the least critical person I ever knew. I sure miss her.

What did your grandparents teach you..or what things did you learn from them? Please share.

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My mom's mom wasn't the grandma type and I don't have any special memories of her, even though she didn't hurt me in any way.

My dad's mom died when I was young but I can remember she visiting us and she was very loving and had a lot of hugs and smiles. Mostly I remember when I was in the 2nd grade and she died. Her's was one of the few funerals I've ever been too. She had told her kids she wanted whatever she had when she died divided up among her grand children. I imagine she had about 15 or 20 of them. She said if she died with 50 cents to buy penny candy and share it among the grandkids. I remember I got a new blue and white dress and my older brother got a new shirt. I don't recall what my 2 younger brothers got.

One of my favorite memories is just a few years ago when my x-daughter-in-law told me that my oldest grandson told her (about me) that "Grandma * " makes me feel loved. So I guess I learned something from my grandma Carrie. :)
 
I only really knew my paternal grandparents.

From Grandma I learned to fear Irish women. On the outside she was all armor plating and nails and could bring down the Furies upon you as it pleased her. Even Grandpa ran when she got going.

But she could also whip up some great snacks!

From Grandpa I learned many old-school Italian traditions - fine home-made wine, DeNobli cigars , growing tomatoes and how to hang out with the goombahs in Little Italy. ;)

Unfortunately they both passed by the time I was 10, so our lesson time was short.
 

Neither of my grandmothers were your grandmotherly types but my maternal grandfather was a very kind and patient man. He taught us how to play poker, waltz......standing on his feet.....and was the best story teller ever. He lived with us and used to walk us to and from school everday so he taught us road sense as well. Loved that man to bits.
 
I only knew 3 of my grandparents as one grandfather died before I was born. Loved them all! Maternal grandmother moved in with us when I was about 5 so she was a second mother. Both of my grandmother's were 'grandmotherly'. One taught me to bake and embroider.

I hoped that when I became a grandmother that my grandkids would feel the same bond with me as I did with mine. And I do have a special bond with my 10 year granddaughter, even though she lives in another country. Not as close to the 5 year old granddaughter.
 
My mother's mother died when my mother was 13. My maternal grandfather always seemed cold, quiet, and distant, and very old. My mother was the youngest of several children. I remember going to visit him in a big ol' house that was very quiet and very prim. He died when I was in the 5th grade.

My paternal grandpa was fun and very kind and loving to all of us kids. There were a slew of us because he and grandma had had 11 children and had also raised as their own a boy who came to them in the depression. I remember when I was quite small he took me to a JC Penney store and bought me a dress with little umbrellas on it. I loved it and I can still see that dress just as clearly as if it were yesterday. I remember the store, which I had never been in before, had those pneumatic tube things up above where the clerk put money it it went "whoosh!" and back came a receipt with a little "ding" sound. I was quite fascinated by them, so we stayed and watched them for a while. Still remember that day clearly. Funny.

My maternal grandmother was crabby and critical -- I guess I would be, too, if I had borne 11 children.
 
My grandfathers died before I was born. I was fond of my maternal grandmother and we got on well. She had an apartment in my childhood home and I would escape there when I was in the deep proverbial with my parents, which was often the case!:D She wasn't a touchy feely grandmother, which suited me fine as I am not keen on being hugged and kissed. My paternal grandmother was a sadistic b*tch and I hated her guts!:mad:
 
I enjoyed all these memories...
Linda..your grandma Carrie did leave a love legacy..and the very special dress..and you remember the color.
Phil..your grandparents gave you rich traditions (and grandmas great snacks:)
Mitchezz...your very special grandfather sounds like a treasure..love and fun and poker even. Lucky girl!
Ameriscot..you were so blessed with so many grandparents around to love and learned special skills..how nice.
Butterfly..I love your dress with the blue umbrellas..and your memory of the sights and sounds of that special day w/grandpa
Bluecheese..your maternal grandmother gave you understanding and a refuge which brought you close to her.

:love_heart:
 
My grandmother was from Europe, fresh off the boat. I learned to embrace cultural diversity. Loved her cooking. My other grandmother (when I was forced to visit) made her grandchildren sit and listen to her read her bible to us and correct every little thing we said and did, she was one old, bitter, mean woman who couldn't move on from her husband cheating on her and marrying a new woman who was laughing all the time and very kind.
 
I think I posted this in a similar thread. My grandmother had 9 sisters and one brother. He was the youngest. She was raised on a farm and the girls had to do all the chores. She taught me to believe that girls can do anything, keep busy, no whining, how to play poker, and shoot a .22 rifle when I was probably too little to be doing that.:)
 
NancyNGA said:
I think I posted this in a similar thread. My grandmother had 9 sisters and one brother. He was the youngest. She was raised on a farm and the girls had to do all the chores. She taught me to believe that girls can do anything, keep busy, no whining (feeling sorry for yourself), how to play poker, and shoot a .22 rifle when I was probably too little to be doing that.:)
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She sounds like a no-nonsense and inspirational kind of lady, Nancy.
 
My Mom's Dad I loved a lot. Only problem was he was hearing challenged most of his adult life. I'm so soft spoken I don't know if he ever actually heard me. But staying with him was a highlight of childhood. A big old house to explore, family down the street, KFC every night and he was a social butterfly so he would take me out visiting. He could be mildly crude sometimes. I remember a dinner with relatives on my Dad's side. Somebody brought up politics and he called whomever "a bunch of dickies". The more strait laced adults at the table almost fell under the table.

My Dad's side weren't my favorite people. But I still love the smell of cherry wood tobacco. That Grandpa smoked a pipe.
 
I was close to all my grandparents, who lived until I was at least in my 20's, but closest to my paternal grandparents who we lived with until I was 2 1/2.

My paternal grandmother had the most incredible patience with doing things over and over again and taught me so many things. She was also extremely close to my daughter and didn't die until my daughter was in her teens. I'd have to say she taught us manners very well.
 
I couldn't learn anything directly from grandparents as I never met them, they were far away and then dead. I suppose whatever my grandmother taught my mother was handed down to me in the form of a good work ethic and focus on the positive things in life. My mom was very good at keeping our home very harmonious and aesthetically pleasing as well as being an excellent cook and I find that those things are meaningful to me.
 
Cookie said:
I couldn't learn anything directly from grandparents as I never met them, they were far away and then dead. I suppose whatever my grandmother taught my mother was handed down to me in the form of a good work ethic and focus on the positive things in life. My mom was very good at keeping our home very harmonious and aesthetically pleasing as well as being an excellent cook and I find that those things are meaningful to me.
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Yes Cookie... very valuable lessons... A well run home is awesome :). It really is comforting.
 
Never cross paths badly with my Dad's Father. My Grandpa was already pretty old by the time I remember him a bit; he died when I was 9. Once, when I was much smaller, my Dad holding me on his arm, he and his Dad were looking at some photographs, attempting to show them to me, but I was fidgety and knocked a few from his hand. Grandpa immediately snarled and struck out at me, a move I'll never forget. Story told forever about my Dad and his 4 brothers and sisters sitting at the dinner table with the folks, any crankiness or sniveling was instantly silenced by a fist's hammer-blow to the old oak table, which my Dad claimed had developed a crack in it from the silencing process! imp
 
One of my favorite country songs is Randy Travis' "He Walked on Water". I tried to load the Youtube video but no luck. Here are the lyrics:

He wore starched white shirts buttoned at the neck,
And he'd sit in the shade and watch the chickens peck.
And his teeth were gone, but what the heck,
I thought that he walked on water.

He said he was a cowboy when he was young.
He could handle a rope and he was good with a gun.
And my mama's daddy was his oldest son,
And I thought that he walked on water.

[Chorus]
If the story's told, only heaven knows.
But his hat seemed to me like an old halo.
And although his wings, they were never seen.
I thought that he walked on water.

Then he tied a cord to the end of a mop,
And said, "son, here's a pony, keep her at a trot."
And I'd ride in circles while he laughed a lot.
Then I'd flop down beside him.

And he was ninety years old in sixty-three
And I loved him and he loved me.
And lord, I cried the day he died,
Cause I thought that he walked on water.

[Chorus]
 
I am grateful to my grandparents to this day for providing calm and loving care, for giving me an excellent education, and for rescuing me from a drunken, abusive mother.
 
My Grandmother taught me self-reliance and resourcefulness. Gramps taught me the importance of a sense of humor, to have fun and enjoy life. It was a well-rounded education.
 
My paternal grandparents were a''holes :)
My maternal grandmother was an amazing strong woman who showed me what it is to be loved.I went to live with her when I was 16,she taught me cooking,she loved to read and had a thrst for knowledge even until the end.although I was an annoying teen,I have regrets not spending mmorrre time with her. I miss her greatly.
 
While my mom and dad were going through their divorce, I lived with my grandparents, with my mom, for about two years. They were hard working folks and loved their family deeply. My grandpa went through a drinking faze, but once he quit, he was my best friend.
 

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