There’s something magical about grandparents. I remember growing up that I thought my grandma was pretty much the most amazing woman in the world. (Honestly, I still think that, and attribute much of who I am to her caring influence.) During our road trip to California, we spent a wonderful five days with my grandparents – my boys great grandparents – and we all enjoyed it immensely. In fact, we’re all already planning our next get together.

During this time spent together, my 6-year-old got to hear many stories about his family; stories from when I was a child as well as recollections from various parts of my grandma’s life. He also got to work on various handcraft projects, see projects my grandmother had made in the past, and learn a bit about a new craft he wants to undertake. He was so thrilled to load up my grandmother’s old spinning wheel into our car (yes, it was a rather cramped ride home) so that he can learn how to spin wool into yarn that he could hardly wait to get home and buy some wool roving. But mostly, he just got to spend time with her and soak in the unconditional love and understanding that comes from being in her presence.

My toddler also had a wonderful time and continues to sing bits of a little rhyme my grandmother sang with him. He also spent a good portion of the day following our visit talking about wanting to share things with her. He’s been busy making her pretend cakes, and making sure we all know the cakes are “Yum!” I can tell that he also misses her now that we’re gone. Truly, it was a lovely time.

It’s so important for kids to have time with their family elders. Hearing those repeated family stories is what roots them in their bigger family tree. Those tales tell them about the values that their families hold dear. These stories also show kids that we all make mistakes, go through tough times, or have embarrassing moments, but that we’re resilient: we recover and can look back with a laugh once the rough patch has passed.

Hearing that the family members who have come before them have experienced ups and downs in life shows our children that we can empathize with the situations they encounter. I hope that knowing that my husband and I have made mistakes and learned from those blunders will help our kids to know that they can come to us for our perspectives when they encounter troubles of their own. And, if nothing else, knowing that you have an extended family who loves you no matter what can help to bring inner confidence and security to anyone.

If you haven’t done so recently, give your grandparents a call this morning, or help your kids to call their grandparents. Building strong inter-generational relationships is great for everyone involved. For me, the only sadness is that our family is scattered in so many different far places – but we definitely enjoy the time that we do have together.