"What children need most are the essentials that grandparents provide in abundance. They give unconditional love, kindness, patience, humor, comfort, lessons in life. And, most importantly, cookies." – Rudolph Giuliani

Grandparents, defined as the parents of your father or mother, are more than your parents' parents. When we think of grandparents, we think of cold winter nights, all cuddly next to the fire, hugs and love, memories and laughs. Grandparents can be seen as the you of the future. They have grown through experiences that we have yet to encounter. That's why they are called the wise ones.

I was reading an article one day about the five types of grandparents; the formal grandparent, the fun-seeker, the surrogate parent, the reservoir of family wisdom and the distant figure. The formal type of grandparent is not "overly involved" in their grandchild's life. The fun seeker "primarily provides entertainment for the grandchild." The surrogate parent takes over as the parental role for his or her grandchild. The reservoir of family wisdom, stated as usually the grandfather, serves as the head of the family, as he or she provides advice for the grandchild as he or she goes through his or her journey of life. Finally, the distant figure type of grandparent "has infrequent contact with the grandchildren," appearing only on holidays. It was interesting to read about the different types of grandparents as I thought about mine. As the memories started to go through my head, I laughed to myself thinking, everyone thinks that they have the best grandparents, but you are all wrong.

My grandparents are the coolest grandparents you will ever meet. I go shopping with my grandmother about every week, and I always bug my grandfather. They are, with no doubt in my mind, second parents to me. Ever since I was young, my siblings and I went over their house for either dinner or just to visit. They had and continue to have an open door policy. I am appreciative of how close my family is and how comfortable I feel talking to my grandparents about anything that is happening in my life.

Through the years, they have taught me many lessons; most importantly, to make my own mistakes. I am grateful for this opportunity because there is no better way to learn than from your own mistakes. I feel safe knowing that I can always call about my day, my problems, and even when I'm lost on the highway. They have given me the freedom and confidence to be myself. I know that it doesn't matter what it is, how hurtful it is, how embarrassing it is... there is no limit of what I can tell them.

Grandma, I strive to be like you. Thank you for hugging me when I didn't want a hug. Thank you for calling when you knew I was busy or was in class. I look forward to the messages and calling you back. Thank you for always saying, "I love you" because you have no idea how much I love you. Thank you for always picking up the phone with your voice. The same voice I look forward to every time I call. Thank you for listening when I needed someone to talk to. Thank you for trying to understand everything that is happening in my life, not many people can. Thank you for being you. Without you I wouldn't be close to the person I am today.

Grumpy, thank you for sticking by me through everything. Thank you for picking up the phone with that charismatic, loving and happy voice. Thank you for pushing me to be my best and not accepting when I wasn't trying as hard as I could. Thank you for respecting me and pushing me in the right direction. Thank you for teaching me to accept the positive things in life and to try my best to avoid the negative. You not only taught me to be my strongest, but you also taught me to be myself. Thank you for holding the bar high. Thank you for pushing me to be my best and for being proud of me.

Thank you both for always being there for me when I needed you the most. Thank you for loving me for me and supporting me in everything I do. I know you are always there to listen about my new adventures especially because I change my mind a lot. I love you both infinitely.

See you both for dinner. Love you with all my heart.

Keep smiling.