{"id":12984,"date":"2019-09-05T10:30:55","date_gmt":"2019-09-05T14:30:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dutchcrafters.com\/blog\/?p=12984"},"modified":"2026-03-23T15:35:01","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T19:35:01","slug":"ways-to-celebrate-grandparents-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dutchcrafters.com\/blog\/ways-to-celebrate-grandparents-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Ways to Celebrate Grandparents Day"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

My parents adopted my sister and me when they were in their mid-forties, and my grandfather O\u2019Connor was the only grandparent I really remember from my childhood. My grandfather died when I was 8. <\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Amish<\/a>
Amish Bread Box w<\/a>ith Plexiglass Front<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

My fondest memory of my Grandpa was this: catching sight of\nhim walking on my way home from school on the days he came over for lunch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I walked to and from school every day. It seemed like it was 20 blocks when it was actually only five. I came home for lunch a lot and Grandpa, (my mother\u2019s father), would often join us. He lived in an apartment in town that was located between our house and my school. On the special days he came over for lunch, I would often catch sight of him as I rounded the corner at Hazelton Street to turn onto Bergen Avenue.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Amish<\/a>
Amish Maybury Upholstered Rocking Chair<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I don\u2019t remember if he came over for lunch more during the fall\nmonths, but my strongest visions are of him walking up ahead in his thick beige\nwinter coat and a black beret that he wore slanted at an angle on his head. As\nsoon as I spotted him I would shout, \u201cGrandpa, Grandpa\u201d and wait for him to\nhear me.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Amish<\/a>
Amish Tennille Corner Curio Cabinet<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

He would always turn with a big smile and bend down with open arms that I was already running toward. When I reached him, I received an exceptional grandpa hug, with a full embrace, quick squish and kiss on the cheek as he said quietly,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHello Beth Ann, how are you today?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then bless Grandpa, he gave one giant and patient smile as he took my hand and listened to me launch into every detail of my morning in Mrs. Murphy\u2019s class as we walked the rest of the way home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grandpa would sit at the end at our little kitchen table while Mom put out our lunch. Peanut butter and jelly for me and cream cheese and jelly for him. I thought cream cheese and jelly sandwiches were gross then and I still do. I would watch in fascination as Grandpa took each bite. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other memories of my Grandpa include sitting with him in our\nbrown leather chair looking at books together and the faint smell of cigarette\nsmoke from a habit my mother tried so hard to get him to break. I don\u2019t\nremember if he was reading or I was trying to. I mostly remember the comfort\nand the warmth and how happy I felt. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the rare afternoons that my mother had an appointment\nafter school, my sister and I would go to Grandpa\u2019s apartment.  In his kitchen, the second drawer down on the\nright was Grandpa\u2019s candy drawer, and I always peeked in it. It was usually a\nselection of hard candies in there, but they were candies just the same.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Amish<\/a>
Leisure Lawns Pine Wood Curve Back Rocking Chair<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

My grandfather died when I was 8. It was the first time I\u2019d ever gone to a wake and a funeral and the first time I rode in a limousine. I remember playing with the electric windows and feeling sad because I knew I would miss him. <\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Amish<\/a>
Amish Noble Mission Rolltop Desk<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Back then, we didn\u2019t celebrate Grandparents Day. It wasn\u2019t\nreally a \u201cthing.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe it was because that was 1979 and Jimmy Carter had only\nofficially signed National Grandparents Day into existence on August 3, 1978.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE ORIGIN OF NATIONAL GRANDPARENTS DAY<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The idea to set aside a day to celebrate grandparents started with a woman named Marian McQuade. As a young girl, she spent time on her grandmother\u2019s farm and at the end of the day, she and her grandmother would visit the elderly in the neighborhood, bringing them food and taking time to visit. Back in 1956, McQuade, who was from West Virginia, was looking to plan an event that would celebrate the elderly in her community. She was prompted to do so after learning how many residents at her local nursing home did not receive visits from family or friends. Her idea focused on the older generation and younger generation spending time together. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

McQuade was a member of the West Virginia Committee on Aging, the Nursing Home Licensing Board and the White House Conference on Aging. <\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Amish<\/a>
Amish Pine Wood Westchester Por<\/a>ch Swing<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

GRANDPARENTS DAY GIFTS<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The best gift to fit the vision Marian McQuade had for\nGrandparents Day is the gift of time. Planning a visit and spending time with\nthe seniors within the family or seniors in the community is ideal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re too far away from your loved ones to see them,\nvisiting your local nursing home to help out for a day (or more) is a great\nalternative. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

SOME GRANDPARENTS DAY ACTIVITIES   <\/h2>\n\n\n\n