By Zariah Palmer
In life we celebrate numerous holidays. Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, Halloween and even the less common ones such as St. Patrick’s Day, Flag Day, or Grandparents day. Though we acknowledge our grandmothers and grandfathers, we don’t celebrate them as we should for the many things they have done in and for our lives. When even is Grandparents day you ask? Well it’s always the second Sunday in September, right after Labor Day for those of you who really do care to know. Here are a few reasons as to why you should celebrate and a few ways on how.
I took this opportunity to reach out to a few of my friends and colleagues to ask them things they loved the most about their Grandparents. “My greatest memory is gardening with my Grammy early on Saturday mornings,” stated Catharine. Her grandma is her pride and joy they treat this day as if it were her birthday. They always bought her chocolate covered cherries even though they recently found out she’s not very fond of them she still was grateful for the thought. Gifts don’t always have to be just because, they can be symbolic. “We always buy a catholic bracelet for my Abuela and for my MeMaw we get her bible verse bookmarks because they are both very religious women,” said Amalio. Sometimes you can’t afford a gift so a simple phone call can work, calling and saying I love you can make their day 1000 times better.
Without grandparents we technically would not be here. They made our parents, our parents made us, so the least we can do is give a big sarcastic thank you for opening the door of life. Perfume, flowers, tools and maybe even a set of golf clubs are all gift ideas that could be taken into consideration when thinking about celebrating. “To me Grandparents Day is about giving thanks to my MeMe and PawPaw for giving me all of the things my parents said no to,” laughed Raelynn. She’s spoiled rotten by her grandparents, “when I got kicked out of my dad’s house my mom didn’t want me so they took me in until I got my attitude together and for that I’ll be eternally grateful to them,” she explained. They took care of her at her lowest moments so they are in a way her guardian angels. Grandparents can easily be put on the back burner and underappreciated for the many blessings they have bestowed upon us.
My grandfather is not only the closest person to me in my family but he is also my spiritual influence in the church. I can’t lie and say I celebrate him every Grandparents Day but he holds a special place in my heart. Pastor Paul Mack Sr. who’s also known as Papa is my favorite guy in the world and no one can replace him. So on September 8, call your grandparents or send them a card. Every little thought counts to them.
