I am very fortunate to have known my grandparents the way I know them. My youngest sister does not know my dads parents at all. They are now in a home, but that is due to being in their 80's, Grandpa has a hard time walking and he fell and hit his head, my grandmother had a couple of strokes and she is not in the right mind at all. She was the kind of woman who did not swear and now she just sits there with her head bent muttering profanities. She doesn't remember who anyone is.
My moms parents were great too. My Grandfather is still alive (well mom's adoptive father, since hers skipped out when she was so young) and my grandmother passed away in 2003. I was really the only grandchild to get to know both sets.
I remember my grandmother watching Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune every day. I remember watching the Honeymooners reruns with her too.
My dads mom loved to watch the home shopping network, and I was able to get her into Everybody Loves Raymond. She said that Marie reminded her of herself.
My moms dad would work out in the Garden and he was the one who chopped down our cherry tree to make way for my swing set, since he decided that it should be the center point of the back yard. HE had that right, since I think it was he and grandma that bought it for me.
My dads father used to take me to the nature museum, this walking trail called Graw Mill, which used to be a family farm. We used to go to the movies all the time. I remember that he would play Hank Williams and Kenny Rogers. And he would tell me stories about Black Bart. And even though I never heard anything about WWII he did tell me that he was in the Navy in 1944 and I have the photo to prove it.
I really really miss all that! IF it wasn't for my grandparents I probably wouldn't be who I am today. I like things that a lot of kids today do not. I have an appreciation for different cultures, one of my favorites being India (minus all the bad stuff, but every group of people has a bad side) which I plan on visiting in January of 2012 with my school. I listen to old music and new music and I have an absolute love for world music.