So How Many of You Are Fortunate Enough to Have a Living Grandparent?

I have three.

I know I'm extremely lucky, beings that I'm 37. And beings that I'm a storyteller--as well as a story-listener. In fact, this aspect has helped me get closer to my grandparents in recent years. I've written previously about my Grandpa Ferdig's hunting stories, Grandpa Freyholtz's philosophical lessons, and Grandma Freyholtz's battle with cancer. She was the first close family death I had experienced at the time (5 years ago), and it brought to light painful but important life lessons.

What about Grandma Ferdig?

At 82 she's the youngest of my three remaining grandparents--and by far the most active. And on Friday she arrived here in Minneapolis by bus from Bemidji. Fortunate timing and circumstances have allowed us grandkids in "the cities" to show our Grandma Ferdig a wonderful weekend.

One such circumstance was me being in possession of a pair of tickets to see the Minnesota Orchestra. The orchestra!? Grandma has lived humbly in rural Minnesota her whole life. Never had she seen a performance like this.

Saturday we celebrated a pair of family birthdays--one for her grandson (my brother), and one for her great-grandson.

Then yesterday, Day 3 of Grandma's weekend in the cities, she enjoyed an event she's watched countless times but only ever seen in person two times before. We took her to a Minnesota Twins baseball game.

She prayed at breakfast Saturday morning that the Twins would play a good game.

They won:)

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The older we get, the more precious our grandparents become. Many of us enter our adult years without any living grandmas or grandpas. What a gift if we do! Because now as an adult of 37, I am better at listening to their stories, appreciating their view on the world, learning from the lessons they can teach me, enjoying seeing Grandma surprised by all the activity of a large city, and giving back to them for all the love they provided me throughout my life.

This wasn't a typical weekend for me--not a typical one for anyone my age, I suspect. I'm uplifted for having had this opportunity. And I'm also reminded of how fleeting it all can be: My Grandpa Freyholtz is currently at hospice care, days away from leaving this life for the next.

I hope this post can inspire you to appreciate your grandparents--to connect with them if living, to reflect on them if not, and to embrace the experience if you are one:)