Grandparents Are Our Link to the Past and the Future!

Welcome back , everyone! Hope you had a great weekend with your family!

When I look at myself in the mirror, do you know what I see? Besides the wrinkles and gray hair , I see a little bit of my grandparents.. my grandfather's nose , my grandmother's rosy complexion , the love of dipping Italian bread in homemade tomato sauce from my grandfather, and the warm smile, bright eyes, and strength from my grandmother! "Coraggio e sangue freddo!" as she always said...these are words I tell myself often when life throws me those curve balls and I feel like giving up! Being raised from grandparents is a blessing! Count your blessings if you are lucky like me!

Italian donuts

Family values are disappearing quickly. Like I said in my first post, we need to keep family traditions alive. I can still remember Christmas when I was a child. My grandmother would make these potato and flour donuts fried in oil..."Cudraridri" is what we call them in Calabria, Italy. They are sooo good and sooo bad for you but...Life is too short! My mom learned how to make these yummy donuts from my grandmother and this Christmas was the first time my mom showed me how to make them and I have to say for my first attempt...they were like my grandmother's!

Whatever your family tradition. old and new, it is necessary to keep them in our family for generations to come.

Ask yourself a question? What has changed since your were a child?...yes I get it! We have to drive our kids to every sports tournament and ballet recital...but what have we lost along the way doing this? The most important thing of all...we have forgotten what really matters...it's the simple things in life...like stopping to "smell the petunias", listening to an elderly person's stories and taking a deep breath on that first Spring day and telling yourself that you're grateful at all you have...When was the last time you did something like this with your children?

Instead we complain, resent, envy, one another and always look at getting the latest electronic gadget for us and our kids...don't get me wrong I am one of you! I've done the same thing...but when does it stop?

I will tell you...when you wake up one morning and realize that the last 20 years have passed and you feel empty...Is it too late? Of course, not...Life may be short but this is our only chance to live it to the fullest and to be the "best possible person we can be". We already know that random acts of kindness are contagious, right? So, why not open a door for someone, smile at the grocery cashier and tell her to have a nice day...whatever it is...do it and don't forget to pass these values onto your children! Children learn from example!

I always told myself that I would never be like my parents...I would be cool in my kids' eyes...guess what? I am my parents! When I preach to my kids, do you know what I hear? All my dad's words, all his life lessons, and  the importance of school and saving for a rainy day and I also hear my mom's complaining to pick up my clothes and clean my room! Thank you Pa and Ma...I was listening after all! Thank you for being my rock when the boys were born! I never realized a parents' love for their child until that day!

I am not cool in my kids' eyes! Do I care? My kids don't need me to be their best friend...they need me to teach them how to be respectful to others, to be trustworthy and reliable, and to take pride in everything they do! They need me to pass on our family traditions because this is their foundation that will shape them into the adult they will become.

Grandparents, parents, children, grandchildren...the past and the future all together at the dinner table! Precious moments... many tears shed here...happy and sad...worth every moment!

This is your life, make it worthwhile!

Enjoy!

Sandra