We’re driving through a bumpy stretch of Route 76 in Pennsylvania, coming back from our fiftieth wedding anniversary trip. For five days—a day per decade of marriage—our scattered family came together, first on a ship and then on the island of Bermuda. It’s likely the last time for such a family fling. We’re about to get even more scattered as our young adult grandchildren head into their own lives.
During this celebration,” our children said, “tell us your stories, a decade a day. We want our kids to hear.”
Every day they showed up, these big, beautiful grandkids, leaving waterslides and pools and basketball courts and ice cream shops to hear two old people talk. And with such good grace, even asking questions to extend stories.
After we told the last story on the last day, they gave us a jar of their memories, fifty of them. And now, as my husband and I drive home through the bumpy stretch on Route 76, we read what they remember.
- A terrifying hike on White Mountain during a thunderstorm at night.
- Watching Grandpa lose it during the tarantula scene in Home Alone.
- Walking around the art museum with Grandma.
- Watching A Christmas Carol.
- Playing tickle monster with Grandpa.
- Bible school during Cousin Week.
- Playing Monopoly with Grandpa and slowly getting decimated.
- Walking around UK during Jon’s track race and talking about my future plans.
We’re glad we did these things. This is what we keep saying as we read. Glad we showed up for basketball games and track meets and graduations. Glad we cooked for Cousin Week and dug through compost for fishing worms and helped with science projects. Glad we sat on the porch swing and held them as we read endless stories.
For sure, we didn’t do it all right! We bumbled and fumbled, learning to be grandparents in much the same way we learned to be parents. Sometimes we said too much, sometimes too little. Sometimes we said the wrong things. Other times we said the right things in the wrong way.
But we kept showing up.
And maybe this is why they showed up at story time this week. And listened, really listened.
Or maybe they had some good parental coaching!
Apple to Apple 