Blog Post #1

A Home Away from Home

            Nearly everyone has some place they consider to be their “home away from home.” For some, it may be a summer camp, a friend’s house, or a vacation home. For me, it was my grandparent’s house.

            My grandparents are the type of people who genuinely love their family and, like the iconic grandparents, love to spoil their grandkids (which I have never particularly minded).  It was not until later in life, however, that I realized just how important being a home away from home is not only to my grandparents, but to my entire family.

           My understanding of this legacy beings with my great-grandma. Having nine kids of her own, my great-grandma was already a renowned mother. However, anyone who knew her would argue she was a mother to so many more. Whenever someone came to visit her, she would stop whatever she was doing and sit to talk with them. No exceptions. I guess this is really what made her a mother to all. She listened like it was her only job.

          This aspect of her life made an impact on both adults and children alike. One child in particular reported back to his mother after having missed dinner, “I was with Mrs. Thelma eating her bread.” What may seem like such simple gestures showed their impact when people from near and far lined up to say their goodbyes.

          My great grandma’s legacy continued in the fullest to my grandma. When my mom was a child, there was never a time when kids weren’t over. Having a swimming pool made their house the place to be especially during summers.

          Whenever there was an argument in the pool, my grandpa would always make his own kids sit out. When questioned, he would say, “You have this pool all the time, they don’t.” He intended for his home to be any child’s home away from home. The only complaint: one child once gained 50 pounds while staying the summer at my grandparents.
        
         This legacy, however, did not end when their kids were raised. When attending a holiday with my grandparents, it is not uncommon for me to see someone at the table with whom I have no relation at all. These strangers are usually either people my grandparents have employed or helped in some way. My grandma never, EVER, lets anyone go hungry.

         Even now, when my grandpa is 70, they have a relative staying in their home, an employee living in their office building, and a man living in a trailer on their property. They will always be a home away from home to strangers and family alike.

         Although my grandparent’s legacy hasn’t yet continued in its fullness to any one family member, somehow, I know that it will. A home is not something that is easily forgotten nor left. It is more than the walls that make it up; it is the people inside. Someday, as I have a family of my own, I can only hope that I will have the honor of being someone else’s home away from home.

           

My grandparents with my great-grandma at her 91st birthday