Grandparents
As I head towards 50 I want to say some thank yous
As a kid, I liked routines before I knew what routines were. Sundays were very quiet days in my town and probably most of Northern Ireland. After Sunday School, Church and your dinner there wasn’t much to do. Most things were closed.
Dogs had been part of my life since birth as ‘my da’ kept Greyhounds after which he always had a Jack Russell about the place. When he left, I was seven, I took responsibility for Patch. Unfortunately, this was an era when dogs walked the streets freely which meant many met their end, like cats of today, at the wheels of a car. So after Patch, I had Toby.
One Sunday I decided I would take Toby for a walk first to my maternal grandmother’s and then my paternal grandparents. This became a pattern until I was a teenager when other things occupied my mind.
There was a calmness at my grandparents that I enjoyed. We would sit in quietness for a large part of the time interrupted by the occasional cup of tea or a question. My granda read papers while my granny knitted. My other granny seemed happy to just ‘sit’. It was in the days of open fires so in the winter it was enough to watch the story in the flames.
I have always liked the company of older people. I like how they have learned to see life from a certain perspective and their stories from a time before mine.
I am thankful for my grandparents.
Best day,
g
