A Trip to See the Grandparents
My grandparents are the cutest. No really. You think yours are, but you're wrong. Kidding, kidding! But Gramma and Grampa (as we call them in the family) certainly top the charts as some of the cutest and greatest grandparents of all time.This past weekend my sister, Nicole, and I drove up to upstate New York to visit them. We had the urge a few months ago, as it hit us that we really don't know as much as we want to know about them. And we wanted that to change. So we spent four days with them, helping them with some household chores, teaching them about some new technology, and just plain old hanging out with them. It was amazing.
We learned so much. So much that we never knew and we are so honored to know now. I was able to get some of what they had to say on video, which is not edited or ready for the viewing public quite yet. But some of our favorite questions we asked them involved their marriage, and I really loved what they said. Here's some dialogue from the Q&A's with Gramma and Grampa (who have been married for 63 years!):
Us (to Gramma): "What do you like most about Grampa?"
Gramma: (laughs as she's drinking her hot chocolate) "You'll have to ask your mother. She sent a form to us a few years ago that she uses with her classes sometimes. And she laughed and laughed because on Grampa's form, the same question was 'What do you like most about your spouse,' and Grampa just put, 'She loves me.' And for my answer I wrote here and here and around the edge of the paper, 'He's handsome and he's truthful..." and all of this stuff you know. And she took this to school for an example of how things are sometimes with women and men.
Us: "Is there one thing you like the most?"
Gramma: "Well I don't think there's one thing. He's very honest. And he's trustworthy. He's been a great husband, he's been a very good father. There are a lot of other things, but those are big important ones."
Us: "What is the best thing that's ever happened to you?"
Gramma: "Well, I suppose marrying Grampa. And then the next eight things are our eight kids. And then the next twenty-three things are all you grandkids."
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Us to Grampa: "What do you like most about Gramma?"
Grampa: "About Gramma? Wow, these are tough questions!" (we start giggling, and Gramma interjects from across the room with, 'Don't be smart! There outta be one thing!' Grampa calms down and then says...) She's usually happy."
Us: "How did you know Gramma was the one?"
Grampa: "We had gone together enough so that we knew what each other liked and disliked, and so consequently we got together."
Us: "What are some of the happiest memories you have?"
Grampa: "I was happy with most of the things we did. We started our marriage with not a cent. We didn't have any money at all. And even our honeymoon was up in a state park. We gradually gathered together enough to buy a home and come out with a little bit left. So we don't worry about the future. Because we have enough to carry ourselves through.
I was happy when our children were growing up. Each one would come along and we would enjoy having them. And they were different, all of them different. So, we were able to enjoy them as they grew up, and that was a happy part.
Gramma and I had many happy days. One of the things that always made me happy was we never argued seriously or fought. If we disagreed, we disagreed, and that would be it. It wouldn't be held over until the next day, or the next month, or the next year. It was over. And I think if married couples can agree to that kind of approach, then they'll have a very successful life. So I can't even think of one major thing that we disagreed on that wasn't settled or forgotten. There weren't many arguments." (he grins)
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So, as I'm sure you'll agree by now, they're just the cutest ever. And if you didn't think that before this next photo, I'm pretty sure it will solidify it for you. Thanks for reading, and if you have grandparents and have never interviewed them, I highly recommend it. It's really quite incredible.
Thanks for reading!
Love,
Lisa