Thursday 9 October 2014

National Grandparents Day - (I'm late)

At the weekend it was National Grandparents Day.....It got me thinking about my grandparents....I did mean to post something on Sunday but forgot until yesterday.....

I had a raw deal when it come to Grandparents.....I really only had one that counted......

My grandparents on my mothers side moved to America I think when I was a baby....My mother had no contact her parents they supposedly didn't like my dad and told her to choose my dad or them....She chose my dad thankfully.

My mother got back in touch with my her mum (my grandmother) when I was a teenager....My grandfather wanted nothing to do with my mother.....I was always told he was an evil man by my mother.....I do think there is more to it but I'll never know as I don't speak to my mother..... 

My grandmother only came back over to the UK a handful of times to visit my Great Grandma (my mothers, mother - my nan) a handful of times.....I think I met her twice. Horrible to say but she was and is nothing to me.....

My Grandmother and Nan....Mothers Side

My Nan was an awesome woman though.....She didn't get involved with family disputes.....She said what she thought and didn't think of offending anyone.....She didn't say things to hurt peoples feelings she was just brutally honest....She passed away when I was about 18....

My Grandparents on my dads side were the total opposite to the one's on my mothers side......

My mam and dad lived with my Grandparents before I was born....My grandmother passed away a couple of days before my mother found out she was pregnant with me.....From what I hear about her she was a lovely woman....She was my Aunty Jeans (who I must have mentioned before) sister and I always hear stories about her.....Like how she caught my dad smoking when he was 11 and how she was an amazing baker.....That is really something coming from my Aunty Jean who is an excellent baker....I feel sad that I didn't get the chance to know her.....I know she longed for grandchildren.

 My Grandad and Grandma - Fathers side.

My Grandad continued to live with my parents and then my brother and I when we were born and he stayed....

I have a lot of wonderful memories....When I was a kid it was fantastic living with him as well as my mam and dad....

My Grandad with me!!

He took over the back of the back garden and he had greenhouses where he grew tomatoes and probably other things but I only remember the tomatoes because he would slice them and put them in sandwiches with a few pinches of salt on....Blackberry picking with him was such fun and of course it the berries were made into jam after the crumbles and pies had been made...

My Grandad would look after my brother and I until my parents got in as they had a milk round to do early on a morning....I remember the perfect soft boiled eggs he used to make and the endless cups of milky coffee we used to drink...

On pension day during the school holidays my brother would take turns each week to go with him on the bus to collect his money and he would take us for a McDonalds. Always a Happy Meal....We would walk around the market then go to Pacittos which was an Ice-Cream parlor and get us a Knickerbocker glory.....

When we moved to the farm to live my grandad built chicken hutches....I helped with the building and remember he had to be so precise....He was the chicken keeper and he looked after them so well....We never ran out of eggs!

He taught me to play Cribbage, ride a bike and play solitaire.....He told me all about the war and was the best Grandad a girl could wish for.....

When I was about 12 he began to change.....He started to forget things and get confused....It was the start of Alzheimer's disease.....On the day of my first GCSE mock exam when I was about 15 he got rushed into hospital....He never came home.....After being discharged from hospital he was put into an old peoples home....He passed away in 1996 when I was 16.....

My Grandad sure did make up for not having my other grandparents in my life.....


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6 comments :

  1. Aaawww, I love my Grandad - and I love my Great Nana who is 94!! x

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  2. Sounds like your granddad was a great man and really made up for your other grandparents. I spent most of my holidays with my maternal grandparents when I was little and I love them! x

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  3. My paternal grandparents were an 'interesting' pair! But I truly loved my maternal grandparents. Sadly my Grandma died when I was 7 but my Granddad was around until 5 years ago and I have so many wonderful memories of him. Thank you for linking to PoCoLo :) x

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