Grandparents

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

So today I lost my grandmother. We weren't really close but it still stings. I now have only one living grandparent, the others died within the last several years. I know I'm really lucky to have had them in all my pre-adult life, though.

 

So basically decided to make this topic to basically talk about your grandparents, what they mean to you, and such.

[ENMaker]

Only have my one grandmother left on my father's side. Two of the others were dead before I was born so I never knew them. The grandfather I did know died when I was like 10 or so. It was fairly awful even though we hadn't been overly close or anything, it was weird not being made to go visit and knowing I'd never see him again and I'm half welling up thinking about it now and I don't know why but still.

 

So sorry for your loss because my own experience with it wasn't enjoyable, I know my age at the time was a factor in how I took it as it was my first real experience of death and you're a good bit older than I was. It's not pleasant though.

 

As for my grandmother who's still alive, she lives only 2 minutes down the road so I see her relatively often. She almost died last year and was suffering from dementia, barely walking and couldn't remember any names. Now she's back on her feet and her memory is properly functioning again and I am still perpetually surprised at how she recovered from needing constant care to being able to more or less live independently again while over 80 years old. 

 

So that's that, a rambling post which I have tended to recently. Oh well.

[epicmemesbro]

My grandmother on my dads side of the family passed away almost a decade ago. I have some faint memories of her. Luckily my other grandparents are in good health. My grandpa managed to overcome the feels and is currently living with my dad in Mexico. My moms side are separated, its kinda complicated. My gramps apparently has a reputation for being a swinger and a two timer and a drunk. Luckily he stopped that but he ended up living in a trailer in our property. Its an interesting character. Certain days he goes to the Catholics to get free stuff, then goes to the Jehovah's witnesses to get some more. He's also likes to buy and sell stuff. He goes to Mexico once a month to sell electronics he bought here. He likes to troll my grandma by claiming that he's being taken for granted and that he was essential to raising our family even if he really wasn't around for them. He even has one liners that he says every now and them. He also has been constantly requesting money from his children ever since he got a cell phone.

[Flash Flyer - Sakura]

At present, I have no living grandparents, and quite honestly, I've only grown up knowing my paternal ones. 

 

Maternal ones passed away before I was born due to reasons, so never met them.

Based on what my mom says though, I might've enjoyed her mother.

Not sure on her dad though, because I heard some other things about him. He might've been okay, but at this point, I will never know.

 

Now, on to my other grandparents.

They'd be 100-101 if they were still alive today; yeah, mine were in their 70s when I was born.

 

My grandpa died in late June 2003 when I was a little over 8 1/2. Passed on because of old age and other conditions.

I never really talked to him much, so yeah bonding wasn't great (coupled that with him going when I was still young). I know there are a few pictures of him with a very young me in my house.

 

In my grandma's case, I at least had some time to talk to her about stuff (well, only for about 2-3 years after my grandpa died).

A good amount of the time, it was about religion and stuff like that (well, when I wasn't watching TV), because she was indeed a devout follower.

 

I know she used to give me a lot of money during Christmas and some other toys, which I sort of forgot where they are now. 

Hopefully they're somewhere in the closet. (That, and a lot of sweets)

 

Unfortunately, I stopped seeing her after sixth grade due to some implications with my godfather (dad's older bro) about things related to inheritance.

 

Last time I saw her was somewhere near the end of March 2010 (at age 15) in a hospital bed due to complications with age and other stuff that I don't remember.

A few days after I saw her, she passed away at the end of March.

 

I don't know; if there hadn't been argument between my dad and his brother about things, maybe I would've seen my grandma a few more times, and some things in my life might've been different. 

 

I didn't go to any of their services because of school reasons [grandpa's one was the day I started 4th grade, and parents thought it'd be bad to have an 8-year old viewing a dead body].

 

Reading through this, I sort of miss the ones who were around during my life (albeit not seeing me grown up as a teenager/now college student), but because they've been gone for quite a while (and I had connections severed for almost 4 years with the only one I had living), I don't feel as much of a loss as I probably should.

 

-----

But condolences for your loss, Cow.

[Northern Sage]

Only have my maternal grandmother left, but she's alive and kicking. Don't remember how many of my grandparents I've met, but the others died when I was rather young. There was a great aunt, I think at least, who I knew for a bit longer.

[(GigaDrillBreaker)]

My maternal grandfather died several years ago of cancer.

 

My maternal grandmother died summer 2014. Her ash scattering was just last August.

 

About two months ago my paternal grandfather was diagnosed with throat cancer. He has finished the first round of chemotherapy and radiation treatments, and will have surgery in January. Gonna be honest, I am really funking scared. I really have only talked to Toyo about this, and am actually pretty uncomfortable at this point in typing, so I apologize for not answering all the questions in OP.

[chaoticjexak]

all of my grandparents bar one are still alive, my grandad on my mothers side. it came as no real surprise really-he was quite the chain smoker...but other than that he looked after himslef. but the issue is, he was such an antisocial man.

 

on the note of my other grandparents, they are alive and happy..for now. but something in my heart tells me my beloved nan on my mothers side won't be around for much longer...

[The Warden]

Both my maternal and paternal grandparents are alive. My paternal grandmother is an obnoxious, domineering matriarch, but she's settled down over the years. She was pretty intolerable during my younger years, but I do enjoy going toe to toe with her now. Her husband is an awesome guy, the sort of fun grandfather you like. He can be pretty crude at times, and it's why I love him. The two have managed to fight off the ravages of time, and tend to be as sharp at tacks. It is hilarious when grandma gets drunk though, and I will always treasure the time when she got pissed at the horse races and fell out of her chair.

 

My maternal grandmother is one of the nicest, most darling women you could ever met. She's pretty much granny from Little Red Riding Hood. Sadly, her hearing's gone these days, and talking to her on the phone is next to impossible. I will say though that she looks damn good in a fedora hat. My paternal grandfather I look up to, as because of him I developed my love of trains, which has helped bring me a lot of joy throughout my life. I owe a lot to him.

 

In all, I love all of my grandparents dearly, even if one of them insisted on being a perpetual pain in my arse.

[Fusion X. Denver]

Both of my grandfathers are gone, but my grandmothers are both still doing okay. Both of them are in their 90s now and have recently been moved to homes, so things could be better/worse regarding their health. 

My maternal grandmother is a very bookish and Christian woman, so she has pretty old-fashioned values, but she's a very sweet woman and she looks great for her age. 

My paternal grandmother makes for a great matriarch and she stopped giving a sheet a few years ago, so she's more blunt and about doing things her way nowadays. She's a character though, I admire her for her independence, but she needs help with more things nowadays.

 

I love them both and I'm gunning for them to make it past their 100th birthdays. I think they could do it.

 

I liked both of my grandfathers too, but I feel like I didn't get to know them as much as I did my grandmothers. They've been gone since 2007 and 2010.

[Sethera]

I suppose step-grandparents count in my case, since I've known them since childhood. My step-grandfather died a few years ago, and my step-grandmother is probably going to follow him soon. My maternal grandparents, one died before I was born, the other died when I was a toddler. Paternal, I'm...hoping they don't die anytime soon, but they're not getting any younger. I've always had a special relationship with them, especially my grandmother, and it'd be terrible to see them go, but I know it's going to happen eventually.

[Susie]

I lost my granddad and my nana. Knew my nana very well but never got to know my granddad very well. Itll be funking awful once my papa and granny are gone but I dont dwell too deeply on that fact, may as well focus on the moment that im living in.

[ihop]

I'm incredibly lucky in that all four of my grandparents are still alive. Dad's parents are in their mid-seventies and are still wonderfully fit (like, this summer we went to the alps and walked every day for 2 weeks) and their conditions really aren't deteriorating in any way, apart from Grandpa getting a bit dopier over the years. I wouldn't be surprised if one or both of them lived to 100. They're also two of my favourite people on the planet, they're super nice and funny and I'm always happy to be around them. They're very different from most grandparents in that they don't really worry and just want to see their grandkids have a good time, and I always do when I'm around them. The only downside is that they live thousands of miles away so I only see them for a few weeks every year, but at least that makes everything oh so special.

 

Mum's parents are a little older and a little worse off (Grandpa had a stroke a few years ago but made an almost full recovery and Grandma has some ankle issue which means she can't really walk any significant distance, although both can still drive). I love them both but they definitely have significant downsides compared to the other pair, Grandpa's a fairly angry old man and is really quick to judge me and after a few days can annoy me a little with his sniping, but he also has a really kind side and under all that he's clearly very fond of me and cares for me, which I appreciate. Grandma worries about the most ridiculous things, I know that's natural for grandparents but she's particularly paranoid. This can be a bit annoying but again it's clear she cares for me and actually in general she's far nicer and far more approachable than Grandpa. Again though, they live in Germany so even though I see them more than the Americans it's still not very often.

 

On the whole, I'm very lucky to have the grandparents I do, I love them all and hope they live for many more years.