Happy (belated) Grandparents Day

Yesterday (Sunday 9/8) was Grandparents Day, did you know? I should have known because I saw an advertisement for it on PBS Sprout. Still, I managed to forget. Other than that one mention on PBS, I haven't seen other commercials or signs for Grandparents day. I don't know that it's reached the same level of hype as Mother's Day or Father's Day, or maybe I just don't get out shopping much.

Nevertheless, grandparents are so important. My kids are lucky that they have all 3 of their living grandparents located on the same 5 acres of land. They are also amazingly fortunate to have 3 living great-grandparents. Although we didn't celebrate Grandparents' Day in the traditional sense of saying "Happy Grandparent's Day!" while handing each grandparent a card or other present, we did celebrate this weekend in a way--just spontaneously. It was a grandparent and great-grandparent filled weekend.

On Saturday my mom came over and we made tomato sauce. We purchased a half bushel of tomatoes from a local farm and had to process them fast. We spent the day, me, my son, and my mom, peeling and chopping, boiling and sauteing and ended up with some delicious tomato sauce to freeze. It was a recipe that my mom learned many years ago before she had kids herself, now passed down to the next generation. Though my son is still too little to help that much, it was still a fun, multi-generation project.

3 generations making tomato sauce

On Sunday my mother-in-law invited us over to her 95 year old father's house for brunch. Her father is known as Papa Bear, and of course, he is my son's great-grandfather. There we were, Grandma, Grandpa, Papa Bear and us, 4 generations, having a delicious meal of muffins, eggs, bacon and fruit on a gorgeous early fall day in a house on the lake.

"Papa Bear," said my son over breakfast, "do you know I flew an airplane at the Fair?" 

"You did?" Papa Bear asked. "Just like I used to fly planes."

How great that my son can have an actual conversation with his great-grandfather? Though he may not remember it when he's older, it is such a priceless thing.

Grandma and the kids at Papa Bear's beach

The only one of my grandparents that I ever met was already suffering from dementia by the time I was old enough to remember her. I am grateful that my kids get to enjoy their grandparents and grow up with a large, loving family. Happy (belated) Grandparents' Day!