Great Grandparents

I have to say, I consider my son and our family lucky that both his Great Grandparents on my husbands side are around to not only meet him but to bond with him. During our trip to Miami (reason why I was not writing on this blog), he was able to again meet up with them and you could really see the bond growing between them. I wondered honestly how many kids get to even know their Great Grandparents and if so was there a bond or a connection?

My son's Great Grandparents are young. Great Grandpa (Deadea...not sure how to spell that in Russian) is 70 years young. Both Grandparents are very healthy, both have sound minds (thank God) and keep themselves busy. On two special occasions the Great Grandparents nearly insisted my husband and I go out so they could bond with our two year old son. By the end of the trip, my son was calling his Great Grandma "Gaga" (he can't quite say Baba). I was also able to see my baby take his Baba's hand and lead her to whatever he wanted. Not a huge leap for most two year olds, but my son has only reached up for his parents hands and no one else, even his other beloved Grandparents. I marveled at that because I could feel the love and was able to witness Grandparents gushing over their grandchild, which for me sadly is a distant memory as I haven't had Grandparents gush over me for over a decade now.

I remember one of my Great Grandparents, but not affectionately. I somewhat wish now we spent more time with her and I had more fond memories of my Great Grandma Ana. She was quite old when I met her in the nursing home. Running around on beaches, cooking yummy foods and playing together really was not an option. Instead this woman saw the pacifier in my mouth and wanted my parents to take that pacifier away. I remember thinking to myself as a young kid, "who does this woman think she is?" That stopped me from wanting to be near her. So as my parents and sister sat and visited with her, I remember playing on the patio railings and being quite smug with myself because I still had my paci.

Having Great Grandparents in my sons life has become quite special to me. Its something that sadly a lot of us don't get to witness. Did you have Great Grandparents in your life as a child? What are your memories of them?