I'm spending the next nine days being as nice as I, personally, am capable of being. I'd love it if you played along! You can check out our plans here, paste your photos on the Yes and Yes Facebook page, email me your related blog posts, or hashtag it out with #9daysofnice.
This 'nice' thing falls under the heading of 'Things I Should Be Doing Regularly Anyway, Get On Top of It, Von Bargen.' There are lots of other things on this list - things like 'eat more salad' and 'figure out the deal with Instagram.'
And my grandma is awesome! I should be calling her regularly! She's smart and spunky and loves her book club and totally doesn't understand why people are so wound up about gay marriage in the Lutheran church.
So last week, I called her. I told her about my upcoming trip down south and why I loved Dolly Parton. We talked about Little Women, whether or not she should lead her book club, how impressed we were by Sonia Sotomayor, the predicted blizzard, and why she thinks I should write a book. It was easily the highlight of my day. If you're lucky enough to have grandparents who are still around, do give them a ring. I'm sure they'd love to hear from you.
Do you stay in touch with your grandparents? How?
Do you stay in touch with your grandparents? How?
original image (without text on top) by emilyandkeating, for sale here
We chat on the phone, but we mostly e-mail because I live 6,000 miles away. The time difference is difficult. When I moved from the U.S. to Korea, my grandmother thought she couldn't e-mail me at the same address anymore...you know, since I moved and all. How cute?! ^^
ReplyDeleteThat is adorable.
DeleteThis is so sweet :) I usually write letters to my grandparents because it gives me an excuse to buy cute stationary and they're some of the only people who write back!
ReplyDeletePlease call your grandparents before you can't anymore.
ReplyDelete^^This.
DeleteI miss my grandparents so bad.
I'm lucky enough to still have both grandparents on my dad's side, and my grandmother (and her sweet 2nd husband) on my mom's side. my mom's mom texts (!!!) me every so often, usually signing off with a "luv u sweetie", and we talk on the phone occasionally. my dad's dad and i have gotten much closer in recent years because of our regular phone calls. we talk every 2 weeks or so. he's a former local democratic politician and loooooves having a liberal, politically-active granddaughter to regale with his stories. and i love hearing them. i think when my mom's dad died a few years ago, it made me realize in a heartbreaking way how much i was undervaluing my surviving grandparents.
ReplyDeleteforgot to mention, my dad's mom and i talk every once in a while, but she has dementia, so it's tough to have an extensive conversation with her. our chats usually focus on her cats, whom she loves like children!
DeleteThat's so lovely!
DeleteTHIS!! Must do it today :)
ReplyDeleteI only have one grandma now and she's not much of a talker. I called her a little while ago to say that I got a package she sent. When i told my mom about it later she said that even though I only talked to grandma for about 3 minutes, it was probably her favorite moment of the day and she's going to tell everyone she knows that her granddaughter called. I figure if it means that I much I can call every once and a while. Maybe with time she'll open up more.
ReplyDeleteYour mom's right! :)
DeleteSo great! So great! I had a goal a few years ago to call my sweet southern grandma every month. I loved chatting with her. Always glad I did. Thanks for the reminder to do so more often. Your grandma sounds lovely :)
ReplyDeleteI really want to call the grands, but even though it sounds like all of you ^ are having rewarding experiences doing so, I'm stalling. My grandparents are the sweetest people--I truly love them--and they would love to hear from me (especially since they live in India and don't get to see me), but they can't hear very well and find my American accent difficult to follow. As a result we tend to have very brief conversations wherein I say something and they just holler back that they love me. It's sweet and kind of funny, but also a little frustrating. I guess it's still a positive interaction for them so I should do it anyway.
ReplyDeleteYes! Or you could send them snail mail!
DeleteI see mine every day, I'm really blessed! :)
ReplyDeleteMy maternal grandmother is nutty as a fruitcake. Not dementia or anything, she's just insane in general. Plus she hoards stuff to the extreme and smells like fruity vomit. I haven't talked to her in a couple years, and I really can't say I regret it.
ReplyDeleteBUT - my dad's mom is awesome. She's from Germany, and so she totally has the "scary old German lady" thing going on (seriously, older German ladies are some of the most terrifying things to deal with). She smokes like a chimney and always makes us eat ridiculous amounts of food. I love Oma and wish I got to see her more often, but unfortunately she lives almost eight hours away from me.
I need to keep in better contact with my grandmother, but I send cards for every holiday and write her a note every month. I try to call on holidays too, but I normally fail because of time differences. This post made me miss her. I think I'll try to call her or FaceTime her tomorrow.
ReplyDeletechevrons&anchors.com
One year, my grandma said that she would pay me a two dollars for every day I called her to tell her about my day. She lived all by herself, in the Twin Cities in a house my grandpa had built decades before. After he passed, she sort of became a shut-in, even though she was in her 50s. When I called her, she would give me a word to spell from the dictionary, (I was maybe eight or nine at the time), and every week she would send me some cash in the mail.
ReplyDeleteNow I work in a nursing home, and see how important it is for those elderly people to be connected with their families, especially their grandchildren. One resident met her great-great-granddaughter for the first time last week, and the look on her face was of pure joy.
Calling your grandparents should be one of the top priorities of your week (in my opinion). They won't be around forever, and they have the greatest stories. There are still days, six years after my grandma's passing, that I wish I could call her.
Thank you so much for sharing this! <3
DeleteDon't take them for granted. I miss mine every day.
ReplyDeleteAw, I honestly got a bit sentimental in seeing this! Sometimes at random times during the day, the thought will pop in my head, "I should call my grandma" and then I'll be at work or distracted and don't. I do talk to her of course, but it should be even more regular. She is just amazing. And your grandma sounds very cool!
ReplyDeleteWonderful smart blog.
Best,
Karyna
I would love to talk to my Grandparents... Where do I start though?
ReplyDeleteWe aren;t super close and I am awkward when it comes to silences..suggestions?