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Quality time with grandparents is time well spent |
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Tuesday, 02 October 2007 |
by EMILY MELTON
My grandfather suffered from both a fall and a stroke in December of 2005. Following the incident, he experienced a whirlwind of doctor’s visits, rehabilitation clinics, and new medications over the course of the next two years.
He was just like any older adult who experienced mild dementia - he had both good and bad days.
Though his age eventually began to catch up with him, my grandfather has always been my role model.
He strove to be a father figure to each one of his grandchildren.
During all of my 19 years, he played a major role in my life.
When I was a little girl, he taught me how to tend his garden. When I
grew to be a little older, he would take me out to eat everyday after
school. When I went away to college, he made sure to keep in touch.
I don’t remember a time when my grandfather wasn’t part of my life, and
as strange as it may seem, I almost thought that he would live forever.
But two weeks into the school year, I received some not-so-good news.
When my little brother called to tell me that “granddaddy might not
make it through the night,” I dropped everything and drove back home.
Though I had just settled in to the routine of new classes and a new
position on the newspaper staff, I had to see my grandfather.
I missed a meeting, an entire deadline, and I wasn’t able to study for
my history exam that Friday, but I will never regret telling my
grandfather that I loved him before he passed on.
Some of us, however, won’t be so lucky.
Timing and distance prevent many from being able to say goodbye to loved ones before they pass on.
Therefore, it’s important to communicate with the older men and women in our lives.
It’s easy to become frustrated with a loved one who once acted much different at a younger age.
However, we must understand that the act of aging is a process that all of us will go through at some point in our lives.
Relationships with those who are more experienced than us provide us with role models who we can learn from.
Grandparents nurture and praise us when we need it most. They teach us
lessons that we can use for the rest of our lives. They appreciate the
interest that we show in learning the things that we didn’t already
know about them.
My grandfather was born and raised on a farm in Kings Mountain.
Life on his family’s farm taught him the importance of work ethic to conquer difficult tasks.
This work ethic led him to devote his life to others. As a pastor, he
was devout in his faith and genuinely cared for each member of his
church as if they were a member of his own family.
My grandfather taught me to work hard and to aim for goals that are not easy to accomplish.
He taught me to be kind to others and to make an effort to be courteous towards everyone that I meet.
My grandfather lives through every smile I give to a stranger and every hug I give to a friend.
If I had not become as close to my grandfather as I did, I wouldn’t have learned the values that he passed on to me.
So, please, answer the phone when your grandmother calls.
Answer the phone - even if it’s Sunday night and you just came back
from a meeting, just began studying for the two tests you have
tomorrow, and are pretty sure it’ll be awhile before you get any sleep
whatsoever.
We will always have papers to work on and friends to hang out with, but our grandparents won’t be around forever.
We’ve all heard that spending time with our grandparents “keeps them young.”
Why not spend time with those who spent so much time on us?
I encourage you to cherish the time you share with your grandparents. Go on a walk, make dinner, and decorate cookies together.
And above all, remember to tell them that you love them.
Trust me - you won’t regret it.
Emily Melton, a sophomore elementary education major, is an intern news reporter.
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