National Grandparents Day

National Grandparents Day is observed annually on the first Sunday after Labor Day in September. It’s a special day to honor grandparents and recognize their important role in families and society.

I think last year was the first I was aware of National Grandparents Day and I think I actually discovered it by doing a web search looking for something to cover in the AAS column for the week. I found the history of the day and much of the column dealt with that history.

Because grandparents and children have a special connection that makes children more emotionally resilient, I want to spend the rest of the column exploring the benefits of  Grandparents Day.  

I retired in 2001 (hard to believe that was 24 years ago). It was not because I wanted to, it was because I didn’t have a choice due to a couple of health issues that had crept up on me and forced me out of corporate America. I loved my work (4 years at Chrysler and 30 years at Blue Bird), but the stress of it, combined with a weak heart, sidelined me until I could have corrective open heart surgery which required a longer than expected rehab time. By the time I got through rehab, it was too late to even consider going back into corporate life.

Perhaps by the way I phrased leaving work you could discern that corporate life was taking far too high a priority in my life. But I didn’t even realize it while I was in the middle of it! The only thing that eases my conscience about that is that I don’t think I was alone; I believe that phenomenom is far too prevalent in our culture in the USA.

And so we come to Grandparents Day. I think that when it was established, the purpose was to recognize, appreciate and honor grandparents, which I suppose is a good thing. But for me, it is a time to realize that life no longer revolves around me and my work (as if it ever should have), but instead, to realize I now have a new set of priorities: to be the best grandfather, and together with my wife, the best grandparents, we can be.

Looking back on it, I thank God for rescuing me for that purpose. Because while I was in the midst of all things work related, I didn’t realize I had my priorities wrong, let alone what the stress was doing to my health. I remember February 13, 2001 (my last day of corporate work) like it was yesterday because I thought the bottom had fallen out of my world. And it took me a couple of years to put it all into proper perspective and realize it was a gift from God to reorder my life around a new set of priorities where grand-parenting could climb back closer to the top.

My wife and I often reflect on the kinds of relationships we had with our grandparents. And while they were not awful (we each knew and had relationships with all four of our grandparents) things weren’t great either …by a long shot! But even though those relationships with our grandparents weren’t great, they were still positive, very meaningful and stabilizing to both of us. 

And so, it is with that realization that Bess and I have purposely made grand-parenting a top priority in our lives. It is no longer about us; in this season of life we are striving to be the best grandparents we can be. Perhaps you long-time readers of this column notice that grandparenting takes front and center place quite often. That is by design because I see it as my calling in life now. And I suspect many of you do as well.

Now does that mean it is easy or convenient. By no means! It is often inconvenient, a lot of hard work and often expensive… but worth every investment of time, effort and money to help launch our grands on a happy, healthy and Godly path of life.

Happy Grandparents Day to you. Enjoy the day with your family, and especially your grandkids next Sunday, Sept. 7th!

Thanks for reading All About Seniors, see you next week!

Bill Milby is a Director of Visiting Angels® of Central Georgia, a non-medical, living assistance service for seniors. If you have questions or comments about this column you can reach him at william.mercylink@gmail.com or search for us at  https://www.facebook.com/VisitingAngelsofCentralGA