Grandparents day this year is Sunday, September 6, 2009. My paternal grandparents recently moved away to live with their daughter and seek more affordable health care, but when I was growing up, I was always very close with them. My favorite thing was to have lunch with them or snack time which was every day at 3:00pm. Their food never changed and neither did their stories, but their door was always open to me and I am so grateful for what a wonderful relationship we’ve had ever since my high school days when I would take the late bus to their house after a student council meeting, have hot chocolate and cookies with them, discuss my day and crash on their couch until my Dad came to pick me up.

About Grandparents Day
National Grandparents Day is a secular holiday celebrated in the United States and Canada on the first Sunday after Labor Day and is celebrated in the United Kingdom on the first Sunday in October.

Grandparents Day can be traced back to the first national Grandparents Day in 1978. With the efforts of Marian McQuade of Oak Hill, West Virginia, she has been recognized nationally by The United States Senate, in particular Senator Alphonse D’Amato, and President Carter as the founder of National Grandparents Day. McQuade made it her goal to educate the young in the community to the important contributions senior citizens have made, and to the important contributions they are willing to make if asked. She also urged the young to adopt a grandparent, not for one day a year, not for material giving, but for a lifetime of experience and caring just waiting to be shared with others.

Later that year, Senator Jennings Randolph (D-WV) introduced a resolution in the United States Senate to make Grandparents Day a national holiday. Five years later in 1978, Congress passed legislation proclaiming the first Sunday after Labor Day as National Grandparents Day and then-President Jimmy Carter signed the proclamation[1].The statute cites the day’s purpose as: “… to honor grandparents, to give grandparents an opportunity to show love for their children’s children, and to help children become aware of strength, information, and guidance older people can offer.”

Things to do with your beloved grandparent(s) this year:

• Go out for brunch
• Bring him/her flowers
• Bake a meal and separate it to eat some, freeze some
• Take a walk – slowly!
• Discuss current events
• Bring some dessert, visit and have tea
• Go apple picking
• Look through old photographs
• Ask about how they met their spouse

Tags: grandparents day, Holiday Events