by Evelyn J. Mocbeichel
I was fortunate enough to grow up with being able to spend time with two grandmothers until I was well into my twenties. Now the years have flown by and I am a grandmother, too, and able to recapture the joys I spent during my childhood. Being close to grandchildren, hearing their stories, sharing your own, teaching them things you enjoy and listening to their “take on life” accounts for the most precious times together! Most people don’t realize there is a special day called Grandparents Day to “celebrate grandparents”. It comes on the first Sunday after Labor Day every year, so this year it falls on Sunday, September 8, 2024. The purpose of this recognition is to “show the bond between grandparents and grandchildren” and their close connection. While it is easier to establish this connection if grandchildren and grandparents live close by, one can create other methods to cement this bond, even long distance. Thank goodness for zoom calls or Face Time that enables “visits” no matter if families live in other states or across the globe from each other!
Recently I received an email from my friend, Earle that had illustrations with captions of days gone by from familiar childhood items or of growing up years about us baby boomers. These were such thought provoking “cartoons” and every one of them rang true to my memories. I wrote back to him saying that several of these pictures touched my soul and instantly made me think of my dear grandmother and the wonderful times she and I used to spend together. It made me nostalgic for the simple things I recalled from my childhood. Going way back in time I loved my overnight stays at grandma’s house all starting when I was about seven years old. She lived a whole THREE blocks away from our house, but to me it was an adventure without my parents with us and it was just me and grandma. After dinner we listened to the Jack Benny program ON THE RADIO for entertainment as grandma didn’t have a TV yet, by choice. In the morning she made me scrambled eggs in her glass frying pan that were absolutely the best tasting ever! Maybe it was the four pats of butter she fried them in that made them so delicious! My hot coca was served in a “Little Orphan Annie mug” that was my mom’s from when she was a little girl! The coca was stirred with a silver spoon that had a carving of Charlie McCarthy on top. Who was Charlie McCarthy? Charlie for those not trivia buffs was the “dummy” of famed ventriloquist, Edgar Bergen. He was before my time, but I recall mom and grandma talking about them both and the funny skits about Charlie and Mr. Bergen “talking” back and forth. Charlie’s famous clothing was a tuxedo, top hat and a monocle in one eye, certainly not your typical kiddie’s dummy we were familiar with during our time.
During my visits, if it were a rainy day, grandma would teach me to embroider, helping me learn and perfect a new stitch each visit. Or perhaps we’d play a card or dice game she enjoyed at her senior ladies or church club gatherings. To this day, I try to teach my grandchildren some of these same activities each time they visit and stay at our house for several days or more. They love the overnight visits, reading them stories when they were little and special foods I prepare when I know they are coming. We’ve had embroidery lessons, craft times and even some art lessons, with the help of an artist friend, Dotty, who invited them over to her house for that purpose. Like my grandma did with me, I plan outings, visits and places to see that we can enjoy together. So this grandparent’s day, try to do something special with your grandparents. If distance is a problem, then give a call and let them know how much you love and appreciate them! For grandparents, this can be your time to plan a day with your grandchildren, even if it is just lunch together or an afternoon visit. Wishing all grandparents a lovely day of celebrating YOU!
