My Grandfather & his Santa Clause
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Today is all about my grandfather. Well kind of. Many of you have emailed over the past few weeks asking what he is up to so I decided to share what he does “every single day” since May. Many of you know, he has a workshop here at our home and he literally spends every day inside, cutting, crafting and creating Christmas gifts for friends and family. He is much slower than he was every a couple years ago so it takes him twice as long. Heck, it takes him twice as long just to walk from the house to the workshop!
Last week I ran out to do some quick errands and my son decided to stay home and hang out with my grandfather. This is what I came home to, these two admiring the Santa Clause drying in the sun. Of course, eating cookies and drinking juice boxes.
A true blessing of multigenerational living, my son and grandfather chilling out looking at Santa Clause drying in the sun. My little man has no idea how lucky he is, he just thinks it’s normal to have his grandparents and great grandparents around all the time. It’s his normal!
These are just a few of them he has made this year, he has 30 others inside!
He looks pretty happy in this picture and it was definitely a good day for him. I will admit though, his crabby side is coming out a bit more lately and he tends to be worse later in the day. Unfortunately, we think he has signs of alzheimer’s developing which isn’t exactly easy to deal with. More on that another day though! If you ask him, he is just fine! 😉
So if you are a family member or friend of his reading this post, you now know what you are getting for Christmas. He works hard and loves crafting, creating and giving gifts. It’s been a passion of his for years and hopefully he has many more years of creating wooden gifts for his friends and family ;).
Meet Jessica
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.
I think this is wonderful……your son will understand and appreciate what a blessing it is to have his grandparents and great-grandparents around later on when he is older 🙂
Good for your grandpa!!! It is very important for us retired folks to have something to get out of bed for each day! Glad he has his woodworking and projects to keep him busy……and out from under your grandma. haha! 🙂 It is wonderful that he has something that he really enjoys doing. <3
Thanks so much 🙂
I love it! You are correct. Your son is so lucky to have his great grandfather around. My children were lucky enough to have the same experience. They are 20 and 18 now and we just lost my grandparents within the past year. My grandparents were my children’s baby sitters when they were younger when I went to work. It brought the youth in my grandparents out and I believe was what lengthened their lives. My grandfather was 98 when he passed and still sharp as a tack! If you asked my children they would tell you how grateful they are for having their great-grandparents around for so many years. They had a very special relationship with them. Keep up the good work gramps! Hope to see more of your creations on Four Generations One Roof!
I think Grandpa needs an Etsy shop! Start working on that banner 🙂
haha I know Nancy!
Great job on the Santas, Grandpa! And what a great gift to give your great-grandson, the gift of time and having him work along side you. Everybody wins when grandparents and grandchildren get to spend time together. You help influence what the child will become as he grows up and he lets you into his world.
Good times, lots of love shared.
I couldn’t agree more Sue! That is my hope 😉
What a special time for both of them! When my dad was alive he would spend hours in his shop in the garage and my kids really enjoyed being out there when we would go visit him and my mom. They are much older now but still talk about those times!
By the way, great job on the Santas!
That is great that they have those memories. My hope is that my son will always know and remember these times 😉
Loved this post! So many would think you are lucky to be around the older generations of your family. I just think you are smart to have made this choice! No luck involved. Thank you for sharing some of the real and personal realities of your lives! Always look forward to your blog posts.
Thanks so much Susan for your kind comment 🙂
Hi Jess, has your grandpa been checked for vitamin D deficiency? My father had dementia caused by mini strokes. Same symptoms as Alzheimer. I did alot of research and found vitamin D deficiency has a connection. Here is an article you may find helpful. It would be great if a vitamin a day helped him get back to his sweetie pie self. I think your grandpa is the best. 🙂
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2014/08/07/vitamin-d-deficiency-linked-to-increased-dementia-risk/
Thanks Patty! He actually gets his blood drawn every 3 months as he is diabetic but I am not sure if they test for the vitamin D? I take him to most of his doctor apts. so I’ll have to check on that! Good idea 🙂
Both your grandfather and your son are blessed to have each other. I think this is the first photo where I have seen him smiling. That speaks volumes about his relationship to your son!
These photos are so sweet! They look like they are having a wonderful time together, and those Santa’s are adorable. You need a shop on your sidebar!!! 😀
I agree! 🙂
Your son will never forget growing up in this unique household. Hopefully when he marries your son will feel that the best place to raise his children would be living with his parents and grandparents, too. That would be a true compliment.
I stumbled across your blog via Pinterest & I’ve been loving reading about your multigenerational living! I too live in a house with 4 generations! My husband’s Grandmother is 90 and my youngest son is 10 months old, plus everyone else in between, so it’s fun to read about your experiences and nod along. LOL! 🙂
That is great! I hope you have wonderful memories to come and I’m sure you’ve made a few along the way 🙂 Stay in touch!
I love this post. The smile on your Grandpa’s face tells it all, enjoying his GreatGrandson and sharing his woodworking projects with him.
Lots of memories for your son, it’s so wonderful that he enjoys spending time and hanging out with Great Grandpa. What a blessing.
The Santa’s turned out great. Your Grandpa is greatly talented. (Wish he would make me one). I would love to get into woodwork myself someday.