Front stoop memories with my grandfather
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our disclosure here.
Today I am sharing front stoop memories with my grandfather. I know, sounds kind of silly but if you follow us on facebook, you may have seen my facebook share last week about hanging out with my grandfather. Living in a multigenerational home (going on 8 years now), has given me so many more memories that I normally wouldn’t have had otherwise. It’s kind of crazy when I really think about it. We recently partnered with Tylenol and each month going forward, I will be sharing “how we family.” There are so many families out there and #howwefamily is different for everyone. We just happen to do our family with nine people under one roof.
This post was sponsored by Tylenol. I have received information about #HowWeFamily from the makers of TYLENOL ® . All opinions and words are 100% my own.
Front stoop memories with my grandfather
A few days ago, I was planting and watering the flowers in the front of our house and I was watching my grandfather move his truck in the driveway. You see, we do the car shuffle often at our house because he has two cars. My grandmother has never had her license and she can’t get into his little pickup truck (his baby) so they keep the car for her. He was moving his truck so he could get the car out to take her for a ride.
After he moved his truck, he walked over to me and said, “kid, I am getting old.”
I laughed and said, “really?”
I told him to have a seat on the front step and take a load off. We sat on the front step for about 30 minutes and he told me a bunch of stories from 50+ years ago. He sometimes get scared that he won’t have enough money to survive and take care of he and my gram. I reassured him that he has plenty and if he ran out, we would take care of them. I think getting old can be a pretty scary place. Our conversation was all over the place as he was jumping from one topic to another so I know his brain and thoughts were a little scrambled so I just listened, giggled and agreed with him.
A big part of our conversation was about financial planning for what would happen if one of my grandparents needed to enter a nursing home and how health care works. The state of Massachusetts (and probably many other states) is so confusing when it comes to elder care. We found a great Elder Care Attorney who will be helping us navigate these waters and make sure my grandparents have all their “i’s dotted and t’s crossed.” This should have been done a few years ago but my grandfather wasn’t ready to discuss finances with anyone until recently. He’s kind of stubborn. -ha. More on elder care planning and health care in another post.
(My brother, my grandfather, my dad, my son and me)
For me, family is all about helping each other and I am so happy that my grandparents have us to help take care of them. They were a big part of my childhood and time has now come full circle. They made me feel safe and secure as a kid. Now it’s my turn to help them feel safe and secure.
About The Author
What started as a hobby, Jessica’s blog now has millions of people visit yearly and while many of the projects and posts look and sound perfect, life hasn’t always been easy. Read Jessica’s story and how overcoming death, divorce and dementia was one of her biggest life lessons to date.
Good girl!
🙂 Thanks Wanda
You are a lovely person – inside & out. It’s a blessing to hear your stories.
Thanks so much Barbara for your kind words 🙂
I love to see your gramps with that huge smile and twinkle in his eyes. Glad to see him doing well. You are all very blessed to have lived and loved together for 8 years.
Thank you Karla!
Your Blog and personal stories are wonderful. This is how life should be for everyone!
awww thank you Kathleen! Sometimes I wonder what life would be like without all my family under one roof and the thought seems so strange. We have been together for so long now, I honestly can’t imagine it any other way.
Love all the stories you post!
I commend you with your family situation. I took my mother in when four siblings didn’t or couldn’t handle the care. What a blessing this was for my husband and I. I was also raising a Grandson baby that we acquired at his birth. Our life was very full and wonderful. I have come to realize that some people can absolutely take this on and yet some people just can’t. Now my mother is gone and my Grandson has graduated from college and is married and the memories are grand. Our life was very rich!
Oh wow that is wonderful Bobbie! I know what you mean by having the memories. Sometimes it’s tough but most of the time, it’s very rewarding and the stuff I get to hear and see by living with not only my grandparents but my parents too is such a blessing 🙂
I love reading your blog, as I can relate on so many levels. We are navigating the waters of three generations, one roof. My father is 74, and still works full time as a builder; my mother and I work right alongside him everyday. Having my parents move in with my family has been an easy transition, and we only wish we had done it sooner.
Thanks for sharing your family with us.
That is great Kim you have your parents with you! I love hearing about other families who live in a multigen home 🙂
Such an awesome family, you guys should have your own tv show.
That’s neat that you were available to talk when your grandfather needed to. I enjoy hearing your stories. There’s a lot to be learned from the older generation.