In more than one aspect of my life, I consider myself to be incredibly fortunate. I have loving and supportive parents who are willing to sit through every sports game, dance recital, school concert, and back to school night for each of my siblings. I have brothers who never fail to make me laugh so hard that I cry, and friends who love me no matter what I do. Last but not least, I have grandparents who are a constant reminder of the importance of family and how much we could all benefit from slowing down to appreciate the simple things in life.
I think the reason that my grandparents and I spend so much time together is, A.) we live roughly 2 minutes away from one another and B.) I have my license and neither of them do. However, when you're someone who would prefer spending time at home rather than go out to a party anyways, this isn't bad for me at all. My grandma is 88 this year and my grandfather is 89, meaning between the two of them there are a variety of inevitable "old-age" problems regarding hearing, walking, and seeing. Don't worry, their sense of humor and love for the grandchildren are more than present.
Often times, in the scramble of our busy lives, we tend to rush through a lot of things just to get them done and move to the next. While in my family, we try our best to eat meals together, this usually ends up only taking about 20 minutes because we are all so in a hurry to get on to our next task. This also goes for taking insufficient naps, only allowing a few minutes a day to ourselves, and seemingly driving a bit over the speed limit just so I can get where I want to be on time (sorry mom!). However, the recent time that I have spent with my grandparents, has reminded me how important it is to take a step back and enjoy the small things that life has to offer.
My grandfather likes to collect coins. He has 7 large binders (one for each grandchild and one for his wife), filled to the max with coins of different metals, presidents, years, etc. With his old age and also just pure enthusiasm for his hobby, he often wants to show my cousins and me his collection, despite the number of times we have already seen it. At first, I have to admit I didn't quite get the fascination. I mean, I thought it was cool but I wasn't too sure what really the point was.
Like I mentioned before, sometimes in the rush of my life, I wouldn't prioritize something like hearing about coin books from my grandfather. I'd be quick to assume I was too busy or I was wasting time by doing this. However, it then hit me that I wasn't in fact too busy and that my other obligations most definitely could wait. I was making the choice to be "in too much of a hurry" and that needed to change. It wasn't until I realized how much my grandfather truly loved his hobby, that I began to love it too.
In fact, after truly realizing how much joy this brought into his life, and recognizing how much it meant to him, I have made a significant effort to change my ways. Since I have been home from college for the holidays, we have spent several days together designing cover pages for each book decorated with construction paper, stickers, and photos of the particular grandchild that that book is for.
While I cannot say I am necessarily going to start a coin collection of my own, I will always enjoy taking a few moments out of my hectic day and hearing about my grandfathers. Advice from me to you, enjoy the simple moments in life!
