A day of heroes and I am celebrating…. grandparents!

Because…

Grandparents are heroes!

I don’t remember my grandparents very well. I only met my father’s father a couple of times, and my mother’s mother came to visit us once from India while we were living in France. What I remember about my grandmother is she used to sneak my sister and I treats, and money. Now that was fun!

I have often envied those who have grandparents in their lives. When my daughters were little, I went to great lengths to ensure they knew their grandparents on both sides of their family tree. In my mind, grandparents are gifts. They connect us to our ancestors, to the generations before us, and they connect us to our roots. Both the girls grandfathers have since passed away, but their memories live on and I am grateful they had an opportunity to have a relationship with both of these men who built the foundation of their parents’ lives with love and hard work and commitment and an unflagging sense of duty to family.

Glynn Young over at Faith. Fiction. Friends. will sometimes write about his love affair with his grandson, Cameron and everytime he does, I feel immersed in the beauty of Love come alive — especially when he shares photos!

Sandra Heska King often writes about her granddaughter, Gracee, on her blog, and in her words and the images she creates I am reminded of the power of love to transcend all.

My daughters have a friend, Jenn, whose grandmother raised her and her siblings. What a gift she was in their lives. Jenn continues to inspire me with her commitment to making a difference in the world through sharing her writing and her video skills.

My friends Debbie and Brian H. became grandparents for the first time last week. Congratulations to you both. Grayson is beautiful! And your love is radiant.

Nicole, (Nikky) who follows my blog, wrote a blog about her grandmother earlier this month. It is a powerful story of love and courage. http://nikkysstrengthandweakness-nikky44.blogspot.com/2012/03/letter-to-my-grandmother-dear-teta-ida.html

My brother-in-law Jim and Bill Cosby both have something in common — Bill Cosby’s father walked to school in bare feet in the snow and it was uphill for five miles, both ways. My brother-in-law rode a cow to school in the snow — and his path too was uphill both ways!

Grandparents rock! 

This one’s for all the grandparents out there!