Nell MohneyThe celebration of Grandparents Day on the Sunday following Labor Day began with the 1979 proclamation by President Jimmy Carter to recognize the active role of grandparenting. Recently, I read an article by a first-grade teacher who said that she could always tell the students whose grandparents were active in their lives.
“They have more energy, more interactive experiences, and the extra cushion of love provided by grandparents makes them feel more secure,” she wrote.
Once while waiting in line at a checkout counter, I overheard one woman say to another that she was moving out of town so she wouldn’t have to babysit her first and recently born grandchild. I couldn’t believe what I had just heard. Glancing around, I saw a gorgeous, well-toned body and an unsmiling face. Obviously, she was a self-absorbed woman who was about to miss the experience of a lifetime.
After my husband’s retirement in 1987, we chose to return to Chattanooga mainly in order to participate in the lives of our then two young grandchildren. What a privilege it has been.
Today, my husband is no longer alive and our grandchildren are established in lives and homes of their own. Sometimes I wonder if I have made any impact for good and God in their lives, but several years ago at Christmas, something happened that confirmed they had at least heard.