Grandparents Rock!

A while ago I posted a Facebook status about a conversation I had with my grandma Anita.  Well the basis of the conversation was somewhere along the lines of this:

Grandma: Hi Ashley, I was just calling to check up on you.  How are you? Everything going okay?

Me: (in a somber tone) yeah, things are alright.

Grandma: boyfriend yet?

Me: nope, not yet.  Dating is hard.

Grandma: It shouldn’t be too bad.

Me: Well, I’m not too worried about it. Sometimes it’s discouraging though.

Grandma: Why is that?

Me: Well, too many of my friends are getting married.

Grandma: Well, too many of my friends are dying.  So don’t get yourself down.

Me: (silence)

Grandma: (laughter) it’s okay, one of your cousin’s is going through “all my friends are having babies” and some of your parents’ are “too many of my friends are getting divorced”.  

Me: true……

Grandma: Well I got to run; I’m on my way to visit my friend in the hospital who just had a stroke.  Love you!

Me: Love you too. Bye.

So just like that.  There I was complaining about how my romantic life is slow in comparison to some of my friends who were getting engaged and married so quickly and Grandma comes along with her sensible fact that her friends are beginning to kick the bucket. Like parents and good friends, sometimes grandparents are there to put you back in your place.  From personal experience, I believe I need a lot of that in my life sometimes. 

But that isn’t the only reason why grandparents rock.  Of course you have the love and caring that many of us are well familiar with.  This particular grandma as mentioned above, is one of the most loving people I know, she has practically adopted a few of my friends as her own grandchildren. Every time she comes to visit she brings along a bag full of treats for me to share with her adopted grandchildren.

 A group of us decided to go down to St. George to visit Zions National Park and a hang out in the beautiful community down south.  My Grandma and my grandpa showed great amounts of hospitality to my friends which was further enforced by a mountain high pile of chocolate chip cookies lying on the counter one night after a long day of fun.  Before we arrived back home from this very fun trip, there was the whole towel incident, where my grandma almost became offended because some of my friends brought their own bath towels so that my grandma wouldn’t have to do as much laundry, when she had plenty for everyone to use.

On my dad’s other side there is my papa Ed. He is pretty awesome.  I remember when he came down for my high school graduation a couple weeks early, he offered to “pop” one of my school counselors for making my missing graduation requirement difficult for me to take care of.  I know he was kidding, but at the time, I really appreciated the thought/comment.  Every now and then he calls to check up on me too; each time it means a lot to know he is all the way in Oklahoma and is still thinking about my brothers and I. 

Now my mom’s and my step dad’s side is a little bit of a different story.  Yes, they are still loving and caring, but in a slightly different way.  My Abuelita Ysmari from Mexico always brings me little pieces of gold jewelry that I get to keep forever.   I remember back when I was able to have a “quinceanera” for my fifteenth birthday.  As a gift my grandma brought me a gold chain bracelet that had “ash” and the number “15” engraved on it.  I’m pretty sure I didn’t take that chain off for at least a year and a half.  Little things like that and an occasional phone call where I get to practice my Spanish (and she tells me another story about a superstition she has), reminds me of her love although I don’t get to see her often.

Now on my step dad’s side, my grandma Carol and grandad Tony, they are good people.  Grandma Carol gives me wise advice on how to marry rich, and what is going to create security in my future.  She still encourages me to date rich and men in the medical field.  I can tell she is looking after me.  Both she and Tony have also been known to help tip me off on how to convince my step dad of certain privileges.  The last time and probably the luckiest time I’ve taken their advice, was when I was about sixteen and I got to go stay with them in Hawaii.  There in Hawaii they made amazing meals for me and one of my friends Emi, and took us to see some pretty cool stuff.  Since my mom married their son, they have been so good at making me feel like part of their family. It’s great. 

I could argue I have the best family ever, but I have to remind myself that I am certainly at an unfair advantage to have almost double the grandparents.  It pretty much rocks; I’m not going to lie.  I continue to get life advice and special privileges that I don’t often get at home as much with my parents.   Don’t get me wrong, my parents are pretty awesome people too, and are some of my heroes, but there is nothing like grandparents…. Nothing!