A Generation Thing ...

I am so blessed to share a special relationship with my granddaughter Lucy Michaela. I know how cliche that sounds, and I know that many people will be rolling their eyes. So, let me give a little background on a couple of reasons why this relationship is special to me.

For the first 7 years of my life, my parents and I lived with my Granny and my Mother's youngest sister. With my Mother and Daddy both working, I stayed with my Granny. She and I had a special relationship. Through many years, she taught me that relationships are the most important aspect of life. It didn't matter how much or how little we had in material things, but what mattered was our relationship to each other. Some of my best memories are of sitting on her back porch in the swing and listening to her tell stories of her childhood, raising her family, and our home town. We would work side-by-side in her garden (green beans, potatoes, corn...), water her many flower beds, or sit and just watch the birds and listen to God's creation. Many good childhood memories.

Although our daughter didn't have the same childhood experience as I had, she has a special relationship with her Grandma (my Mother). Spring breaks, Christmas breaks, summer weeks, long weekends ... time for Grandma's and Grandpa's house! The first time she stayed with her grandparents, she was only a couple of weeks old. Granddad and I traveled for a few days on job interviews that would eventually send us out of state. But, even though several hours separated us, the relationship actually grew very strong. Grandma kept up with the middle school/high school fashion trends, the makeup (age-appropriate), and Barnes & Noble (and their coffee too). Even to this day, the relationship bond between Grandma and her granddaughter is very strong. (Grandma even drove an hour and a half, through morning rush hour traffic, to the hospital when I called to let them know that Lucy Michaela was going to make her appearance that day! Grandpa couldn't come, but we were so glad that Grandma did.)

So now, this brings me to Lucy and her Granny. For one, granddaughter Lucy is named in honor of my Granny Lucy. This has meant a great deal to me and my Mother. My daughter was my Granny's first great-granddaughter, and to have my Granny's first great-great-granddaughter named for her is an honor. My Granny was a hands-on person -- she was active in all of her grandkids lives. She showed us all (her children and her grandchildren) just how important relationships are in a family. And this is what I want to show my daughter and my granddaughter. I never want to be too busy that I can't take time for my family. And although the 'Joes will be moving to a military post, Granddad & I want our relationship with them to grow stronger just like our daughter's relationship with her G'Ma and G'Pa.

 

Relationships take time to build, nurture and maintain. Although we all find ourselves with many other responsibilities, our relationships with family (and friends) are very important to pass down to our future generations. How will they learn if we don't show them?