My Grandfather’s Legacy, An Everlasting Bond

The legacy my grandfather left me can not be measured in material goods, not even in old stopped clocks or black and white photographs.

The authentic gift was the timeshare, the long walks tearing the dry leaves on the way from school to home, the piece of chocolate he kept in his pocket or the summer hours facing the sea. to listen to his stories. A thousand stories that straddled reality and its inventions.

Grandparents are such an intense link between generations, and they are responsible for transmitting values, educating according to emotions, and sharing experience and a serene bond.

They are playing partners, confidants and advisers. The role of grandfather has many facets in our current society.

If the role of the grandfather is also that of educating, his mission is not quite the same as that which the parents must have. Grandparents have already lived their moments of fatherhood and motherhood. Now is the time to play a different role, or even take stock of their own childhood.

These are trees of life where new generations shelter.

The grandfather, my pedestal and the condition of my wisdom

We will never know if our grandparents wanted to be. Grandchildren come into the world hoping to be loved, pampered, and pushed into the world with confidence and security.

Every child needs to form a strong bond with those around them, and while parents are important, grandparents are no less.

We carry some of their blood and in a way we carry their legacy with our generation. However, there are many other aspects that nourish this connection that go far beyond a common genetic code.

1. Grandparents can stop time

Did you know this ability present in most grandparents? When you came home from school and your grandpa picked you up, you knew the afternoon was going to be more laid back and more relaxed.

We don’t know either if our grandparents asked to “relive” their own childhood with us, but in a way, they are almost doomed. 

They share our games and our puzzles, and today they are quite adept with new technologies. They share laughter and confidences with their grandchildren, and they establish moments with intense emotional charges and different from those that one builds with his parents.

Grandparents almost never sanction, they are a little more permissive and know how to listen. They have time ahead of them and manage to stop time for their grandchildren.

2. The role of the grandfather and the role of the grandmother

This data is curious but turns out to be correct. According to different studies in gerontology and family psychology, the role of grandfathers tends to be different from that of grandmothers.

Grandmothers are pure dedication, care and attention. They are the ones who worry about our food and our well-being. In a way, they are more focused on reality and on everyday life,  being useful.

In contrast, grandfathers bring knowledge of the past and a personal legacy to pass on through thousands of stories and tales, which grandchildren listen to with eyes wide open and hearts aflame.

Children love to listen to stories, discover their origins, and see the world from the wise eyes of grandfather and grandmother. It is a unique wisdom which is passed on from generation to generation, and which is never forgotten.

3. They are allies in times of crisis

Grandparents are those huge trees where the whole family can take shelter during moments of harmony and storms. Adolescents, for example, often calm their fears through contact with their grandparents who also mediate with parents.

We criticize the grandparents because they give in too much, and often defend the grandchildren against the parents, who are their children.

Grandparents are at a stage in their life where they let go of conflict and prioritize emotional worth and closeness to their own, who are above all else. 

My grandfather was not only a storyteller, he was a man who couldn’t stand the silence of an empty house or the noise of a living room where arguments floated.

My grandfather was an ocean of calm that brought serene breezes in times of family crisis.

No one ever knew how he was doing, but thanks to him, and like many others, I had a safe and happy childhood, and full of personal heirlooms more precious than the pirate treasure of his wolf stories. sea.

Images from PJ Lynch Gallery