I have fond memories of my grandparents.

My grandfather taught me how to fish and attempted to teach me how to dive into a swimming pool. The diving part was not successful.

If someone gave my grandfather a box of chocolates, my grandmother would try a piece of chocolate, and if she didn’t like it, she would put it back in the box after taking a bite. This infuriated my grandfather!

My grandfather loved to sing and would always sing at family gatherings. He was a “star” at the local senior center, often being asked to perform solos.

There were times when we would spend weekends at my grandparents’ house, and they had a wonderful playhouse for my sister and me. We had riding equipment and would go to and from “work” in our vehicles down their driveway. We had tea sets and play food and a keen sense of imagination.

My memories of my grandparents were sparked by the calendar marking Sept. 8 as Grandparents’ Day.

According to grandparentsday.com, “National Grandparents’ Day is rooted in the innovative work of two committed and passionate pioneers: Jacob Reingold and Marian McQuade. ... A presidential proclamation was signed by President Jimmy Carter in 1978, which began the observation of this special holiday.”

It is a day to celebrate and recognize the importance of grandparents.

In my continued quest of cleaning and purging, I found a list compiled in 2015 by Coach Muller, with mygoodtimestories.com, where a group of 8-year-olds were asked to define what a grandparent is. Here are their answers.

• Grandparents are a lady and a man who have no little children of their own. They like other people’s.

• A grandfather is a man and a grandmother is a lady!

• Grandparents don’t have to do anything except be there when we come to see them. They are so old they shouldn’t play hard or run. It is good if they drive us to the shops and give us money.

• When they take us for walks, they slow down past things like pretty leaves and caterpillars.

• They show us and talk to us about the color of the flowers and also why we shouldn’t step on “cracks.”

• They don’t say, “Hurry up.”

• Usually grandmothers are fat but not too fat to tie your shoes.

• They wear glasses and funny underwear.

• They can take their teeth and gums out.

• Grandparents don’t have to be smart.

• They have to answer questions like, “Why isn’t God married?” and “How come dogs chase cats?”

• When they read to us, they don’t skip. They don’t mind if we ask for the same story over again.

• Everybody should try to have a grandmother, especially if you don’t have television, because they are the only grown-ups who like to spend time with us.

• They know we should have snack time before bedtime, and they say prayers with us every time and kiss us even when we’ve acted badly.

• A 6-year-old was asked where his grandma lived. ”Oh,” he said, ”she lives at the airport, and when we want her, we just go get her. Then when we’re done having her visit, we take her back to the airport.”

• Grandpa is the smartest man on earth! He teaches me good things, but I don’t get to see him enough to get as smart as him!

Continuing with this theme, we went to a local elementary school and asked a group of first-grade students how old they thought their grandparents were. Some of their answers will make you chuckle.

My husband and I are grandparents and great-grandparents.

As Jeremy Taylor put it so succinctly, “My life is blessed; I have held my children’s children.”

I couldn’t agree more.

Debbie Galbraith

editor

East Penn Press

Salisbury Press