Did you ever spend the summer at Grandma's house?
And it got me thinking-- do kids still spend a week at their Grandparents houses like we did? Did you spend time with Grandparents, or a favorite Aunt or Uncle when you were younger? Some of my best memories are of those times. They were always filled with lots of cousins, and learning new things. Like cutting the heads off of chickens to dress them... 
We couldn't wait for the last day of school, because it always meant it was time to "spend a week" somewhere. I have a favorite Aunt Nancy and always stayed at her house too. I wonder, when Skyler and Alayna are bigger, will they want to "spend a week" at Buckies? And if they do, will John and I leave them with the same wonderful memories of childhood? I would love to hear your stories. Do your Grandkids stay with you? Good times... Good times... |
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| I was lucky, I stayed at my Grandma's house pretty much every weekend. She was out of town on a few acres so we ran riot, fished in the channels, climbed haystacks and all that stuff.
My Gran taught me to knit, crochet and embroider and I still do cross stitch. Great memories,  thanks for reminding me. |
| Interesting topic.
For a few years while we were living in the US as youngsters, my brother and I used to get shipped off to my aunt's for a week every year. It was that or ship my mom off to an insane asylum, I suppose. Bro and I are 22 mos apart, with me being the older of us, and he was a terrorist growing up. In fact, I thank him for my complete and unwavering lack of interest in ever reproducing. To this day I don't understand why anyone would ever voluntarily do so  
Said aunt, my mom's eldest sister, is one of those natually alpha human beings whom most sane people naturally obey. But since my brother was psychotic (according to my definition  ) by age four maybe? he had become so defiant even she couldn't contol him. When she told him to go to his room and he instead stepped out and peed on her porch (seemed to be a theme with him, but never mind) she merely stepped back inside and informed my mother that she needed to pick him up NOW.
Poor mom. On the plus side, with him banished, I had a lot more fun over the years without him. My cousin and I went swimming every day and she taught me how to ride a bike and all those good things. I'm not sure what my mother did with my brother since no one else in the family would take him on. Even her sainted baby sister, who will do anything for anyone, had him shipped him back at one point. I forget what precious item of hers he peed on. He used to pee in my boots when he got mad at me. The darn poodle was easier to housebreak then he was A real charmer. that one
After we moved back to Norway we used to spend a week or two (or a month? hard to tell when you're a kid - time is such a relative thing) at my grandparents' camp in on one of the islands. It was pretty primitive. No electricity, no indoor plumbing. Suited my brother just fine, of course - my grandmother took him to task after he darn near killed one of her forsythias, and that's a hardy shrub under normal circumstances. But she'd raised two boys of her own, so I'm thinking she's the one who finally put an end to his indiscriminant toilet habits because I don't recall him being quite so liberal with his urine after that...
We had so much room to roam. the area was wild and rugged, right on the ocean, hills to climb, forests all around us, no close neighbors except my dad's cousin's family's camp, no traffic. A perfectly safe place to let two kids and my poor poodle (I used to pretend she was a horse <sigh> I sorely wanted one) run wild from dawn to dusk. It was also big enough that my brother and I did not need to be in close proximity of each other, so that was an added bonus
When another cousin and I weren't pretending to be people from the stone age, or Vikings or whatever historical epoch we concentrated on the term before at school I was making up little jumps <  > and running my poor poodle over them (recall that I badly wanted a horse... ) The poodle always obliged. Poodles being eminently more trainable (and cleaner) than younger brothers....
One summer day my brother and I nonetheless got into it. And I mean we were screaming at each other all day long. My grandmother was the disciplinarian in that setting, my grandfather the gentlest, most softspoken man I've ever known with a wicked sense of humor just under the surface, and the twinkle in his eye to prove it if you just knew where to look. By noon my grandmother had gone to bed with a migraine. My grandfather, who never, ever said a cross word to us on any other occasion as long as he lived walked out and told us sharply to knock it off, we were not to upset grandma. We were stunned. Shocked. And devastated that we had upset him. We spoke in whispers for a week and were even cordial to each other
The gentleman knew a thing or two about the old adage of speaking softly and carrying a big stick...
Oh, and for the record, my brother grew up to be a perfectly normal, responsible human being. Well, if you define working for Microsoft normal. His wife has not complained about his potty training, so I'm pretty sure my grandma's lessons finally stuck 
Kristine |
| Mr J can't wait to allow our lo's to stay a few weeks at the grandparents. Some of his best memories are also like yours. He loves going over there and each set did different things. One wasn't as active, but he enjoyed doing puzzles and swimming over their house. While the other was very active, and they'd travel all over with their time together.
WITH that said, mine won't be doing that until both sets can be trusted to respect our rules. Since I know they feel they can do as they please if they see no problem with it, they won't until the kids are older and my rules won't apply. All this being food related. I get that grandparents are suppose to be grandparents and all that crap people say, AND I AGREE, but when your kids have not been introduced to certain things yet due to their age... I take it as a slap in the face when all I'm trying to do is what I feel is right for my children. /off soapbox but this is a touchy subject for me |
Mad Dog wrote: Bro and I are 22 mos apart, with me being the older of us, and he was a terrorist growing up. In fact, I thank him for my complete and unwavering lack of interest in ever reproducing. To this day I don't understand why anyone would ever voluntarily do so
KristineI'm older than my brother by 14 months and apart from the peeing in my boots thing I can totally relate to your story. I also desperately wanted a horse. Due to the lack of a poodle, we had a stubborn Aussie Terrier, legs way to short for jumps, I was forced to become even more tragic than Kristine. I set up a jumps course in the back yard one summer holidays and pretended I was a horse. Kept me fit though.
You'd think my parents would have either had me certified insane or bought me the darned horse. |
| I remember going to my grannies farm for a month or so every summer, I loved reading the old books, playing on her piano , listeningto the old records on the gramaphone ,just being outside and seeing all the animals and having 3 uncles teasing me to bits, I loved it all.
then how happy I was when my g/kids came to stay with me , we did lots of crafts and such and now the best part is that the 4 g/sons all in their 20's and the 2 g/daughters in their teens still come for a visit. Makes me feel so loved that they still care to spend time with the old lady |
| I was lucky. One set of grandparents lived right next door. My Dad & his brother built our house, then my grandparents house & then his brother's house (his was across town). My grandparents all came over from "the old country" so there was always lots of good food to eat (most of it made with LARD!!! ). I remember my grandparents letting my brother & me drink coffee laced with milk & sugar & making us promise NOT to let our mother know! Fun times helping in the big garden & taking us fishing & to the local amusement park. My other grandmother (grandpa passed away when I was 6 months old) lived in the next city. My brother & I would go & stay the weekend at her house. She spoiled us rotten! We lived in a 1 floor ranch & she had a 2 story new home. We used to spend hours sliding (or rather bumping) down her carpeted stairs! She used to let us have hard salami to eat & all the 7-Up we wanted to drink (2 things we weren't allowed to have at home nor could we afford when growing up). Oh! I almost forgot.......the Brach's raspberry flavored hard candy with the soft raspberry filling! We used to make ourselves sick on those! |
| No grandparents here, paternal grandparents were long, long gone by the time I came along and the maternal grandmother was in a nursing home in Salt Lake City. I remember four trips to visit her, 3 summer trips and one Christmas. The most memorable was one summer trip on the train. (no, the most "memorable" was the flight to Salt Lake City on a DC6 thru an awful storm, I was super air sick, but it was my little brother who tossed his cookies......all over me) The California Zephyr ran from Chicago to Oakland, but by far the best portion was between Denver and Salt Lake City, the section we traveled.
We boarded the train early and Lo and Behold, there sat our school secretary, Miss Wynn. This gentle lady turned out to be an ideal travel companion for my younger brother and me keeping us entertained with questions, stories and information about the country we were traveling though. Almost immediately we were in the foothills along a small stream, twisting around corners, thru short tunnels while high hills-not really mountains-- towered over us. Of course all of us were quickly seated in the Vista Dome, the bubble atop the train car allowing 360 degree and overhead views. As we climbed higher and higher in the mountains I wondered if we'd go over the high mountains visible ahead or a tunnel. The Moffett tunnel goes under the Continental Divide. It's about a 17 minute ride through the tunnel and when we emerged the landscape was no longer rocky mountains and blue skies, but we were passing a ski area and it was snowing. The change was magical and one I'd experience again and again as I daily drove over divide in future years. The train slowly inched down the West Slope picking up the still tiny Colorado River.......the one that would eventually become the giant canyon carver of the Grand Canyon. As we continued west, the river grew in size and it's landscape changing ability became aparent in Glenwood canyon. This narrow canyon carved by the river towers far above the train which ran on tracks nearly at water level....or so it seemed. This section is world famous for beauty. When we left the canyon we stopped at Glenwood Springs to pick up passengers and were stopped next to a warm spring fed olympic size pool. Steam rose skyward as snow still blanketed the ground all around. This fish wanted to leave the train and dive right in. We continued westward but eventually turned northwest and the Colorado River turned southwest for it's destiny with the Grand Canyon. The ride towards Salt Lake is thru some pretty strange country, especially after those high mountains. The best way to explain it is Mesa country with the large flat top plateaus all about and the red sandstone rock, sometime white limestone rock. Moisture is scarce so vegetation was minimal. By now the sun was setting and we were hungry for dinner. Lunch had been a quick chicken sandwich which I found detestable as it had chicken gelatin on it.......it was then Miss Wynn explained the gelatin was held in far higher esteem than simple mayo. I wasn't impressed. Dinner was trout......I was sure freshly caught from the rivers we had traveled along. A child's dream. Nightfall still found us still in the Vista Dome, but instead of mountains and rivers we now had stars! Even through the dirty plexiglass dome we were amazed how many more stars we could see than back home in Denver. After 12 hours (I learned about train bathrooms and vowed never to pee on a train again) I was ready to leave when suddenly the dark suddenly gave way to a big city and all the lights! It was Salt Lake City. It wasn't long before my aunt and uncle had collected us, we bid goodby to Miss Wynn and we were headed to a visit with grandma. |
| My grandma and grandpa lived below where I grew up. So everyday after we got off the school bus we would first stop and see grandma (grandpa had died by that time). Play, eat whatever goodies she made, etc. It was great. My other grandma lived very close so I saw her probably once a week or more. My one Aunt and her husband lived above us and my Uncle lived with my grandma and I had cousins and other relatives who lived up the road. Summer vacations meant spending more time at my grandma's who lived below us and playing out in the woods on my relatives property(sometimes with his kids) which was right next to my parents. Good times. |
Mim wrote: Mad Dog wrote: Bro and I are 22 mos apart, with me being the older of us, and he was a terrorist growing up. In fact, I thank him for my complete and unwavering lack of interest in ever reproducing. To this day I don't understand why anyone would ever voluntarily do so KristineI'm older than my brother by 14 months and apart from the peeing in my boots thing I can totally relate to your story. I also desperately wanted a horse. Due to the lack of a poodle, we had a stubborn Aussie Terrier, legs way to short for jumps, I was forced to become even more tragic than Kristine. I set up a jumps course in the back yard one summer holidays and pretended I was a horse. Kept me fit though.You'd think my parents would have either had me certified insane or bought me the darned horse. OMG Mim you are too funny! |
| I LOVE reading these posts. Wonderful memories, and such sweet stories!!
Both sets of my Grandparents lived on farms. I've posted many stories about my paternal Grandparents, but not so many about my other Grandpa and Grandma. It's funny-- my maternal set would coddle us, not allowing us to help much. I loved my Grandpa dearly, and he would take me fishing at his pond. They also had a cow named Lori Ann, which I thought was the coolest thing ever! Now, when I think back, having a cow named after you isn't all that glamorous. They would only allow one of us to stay at a time, so, while I had tons of cousins on that side too, it was different there. Lots of fun, but lots more one on one time. Watching instead of doing. Grandma had arthritis, and it was hard for her to get around. She still hoed the garden and shelled the peas and all of the things that go along with having a farm, but they didn't let us help. They prefered to do and have us watch. My Grandpa WAS however, a grand story teller, and I used to sit for hours and listen to his tales. He was the youngest of 7 kids, born in Kentucky to poor farmers. His Mom died in childbirth while having him, so he never knew a mother. His father, a very stern man, had left the kids with relatives after the death of Great Grandma. They were shipped here and there...  .
When my Grandpa was 13, his Dad came back for him, because he was old enough to help in the fields. My Grandpa ran away. As he told it " He walked the train rails of Kentucky into Ohio" and ended up in Lancaster. Anchor Hocking was hiring at that time. Times were hard, and men slept outside the factory, hoping to be picked for work every morning. Each morning, a forman would open up the door of the factory, and choose a man for employment. On the 13th day, the forman opened the door, pointed at Grandpa and said " Kid, you have been here 13 days and 13 nights. I'm going to give you a chance. Don't let me down. " He didn't let him down. My Grandpa retired from Anchor Hocking at 65 years old. Grandma hated when Grandpa would start telling stories. She had heard them time and time again... As the years passed, we had ALL heard them hundreds of times, but we would still beg him to tell certain stories. I was so fortunate to have both sets of Grandparents in my life, clear into adulthood. Keep those stories coming!!! I love to read your memories! |
My parents married at an older age, so by the time I came along I had only one grandparent left. My Paternal Grandma lived in Vermont and we lived in Michigan. Everyother year we, as a family, would go and visit her for a week. I loved going to see her, Vermont was soo cool with all the Mountains. We always had a good time, but one item always stands out in my mind regarding our visits...we where usually there for my younger sister's Birthday. My grandma would always make a Maple Birthday cake for her. 
My hubby was lucky enough to have his grandparents only a few cities away and he still talks about how great it was to spend the week each summer at his grandparents house...they got spoiled. Each summer my granddaughter spends the summer with her Mom who lives with us...we have a great time with her here. We hope we are making special memories for her as well. |
violet wrote: My parents married at an older age, so by the time I came along I had only one grandparent left. My Paternal Grandma lived in Vermont and we lived in Michigan. Everyother year we, as a family, would go and visit her for a week. I loved going to see her, Vermont was soo cool with all the Mountains. We always had a good time, but one item always stands out in my mind regarding our visits...we where usually there for my younger sister's Birthday. My grandma would always make a Maple Birthday cake for her.
My hubby was lucky enough to have his grandparents only a few cities away and he still talks about how great it was to spend the week each summer at his grandparents house...they got spoiled. Each summer my granddaughter spends the summer with her Mom who lives with us...we have a great time with her here. We hope we are making special memories for her as well. I'm sure at some point your Grandaughter will tell about her time at "Grandma's house" and how special it was for her!  |
| my bother and i spent a week with my dads parent inthe countryside runnning riot getting messy etc
and then two weeks with my mum parents - one week at their house in kent doing things like going to the seaside or london on the train to the museums and the other week at a butlins holiday camp having fun in the pool. then we would have a two week holiday camping with my parents i loved it but in reality it meant my mum and dad only had to pay for child care for 1 week out of the six week holidays. zoe and einy |
| I'm a little late for the topic, but had to add my thoughts.
I grew up in Finland and ever since I remember the day after school was out my brother and I were on the train on our way to our grandma's house for the whole summer only to return the weekend prior to school starting again in August. She lived close to the Russian border way in the country -- dirt roads, village store a mile or so away, no indoor plumbing, wood burning stoves for cooking and heating (well she had an electric stove but that was used only to boil water for coffee or tea... lol). Those summers are some of the best memories of my childhood that I have. I now have an 8-year-old daughter here in the States and I'm not sure she's ever seen a dirt road! I often tell her about my summer adventures and she in turn often comments that she wishes she could have such great simple summers as well. In Finland they used to have summer programs for city kids to find summer placements at farms ... not sure if that is still the case. Anyone heard of anything like that in the States? Then again, I work in child welfare and likely would not ever consider sending my child away -- not that it wouldn't be safe, but I see and hear way too much every day at work to trust the world with my own... occupational hazard, I suppose. Thanks for the topic -- sweet memories.
Salla. |
queengracie wrote: I'm a little late for the topic, but had to add my thoughts.
I grew up in Finland and ever since I remember the day after school was out my brother and I were on the train on our way to our grandma's house for the whole summer only to return the weekend prior to school starting again in August. She lived close to the Russian border way in the country -- dirt roads, village store a mile or so away, no indoor plumbing, wood burning stoves for cooking and heating (well she had an electric stove but that was used only to boil water for coffee or tea... lol). Those summers are some of the best memories of my childhood that I have. I now have an 8-year-old daughter here in the States and I'm not sure she's ever seen a dirt road! I often tell her about my summer adventures and she in turn often comments that she wishes she could have such great simple summers as well. In Finland they used to have summer programs for city kids to find summer placements at farms ... not sure if that is still the case. Anyone heard of anything like that in the States? Then again, I work in child welfare and likely would not ever consider sending my child away -- not that it wouldn't be safe, but I see and hear way too much every day at work to trust the world with my own... occupational hazard, I suppose. Thanks for the topic -- sweet memories. Salla. Thanks for sharing! I would love to hear more about your times at your Grandma's house. It sounds like a real adventure. Isn't it fun to remember all the fun we used to have in the summer?? |
| I don't know how I missed this one earlier--I loved reading all the post on this subject--
My grandmother on my father's side was one of my 'very best friends'! When my grandfather passed away she was only 59 years old, and the word was that she wouldn't live a year without him. I was only 7 years old but I remember thinking that 'they' were all wrong-- She surprised everyone and lived until she was 87!--When I was about 10 years old, I began to spend a month with her every summer--we had a blast! She loved to play canasta until the wee hours of the morning. She would make coffee and toast after the game before we went to bed. We shopped, swam, listened to music, read romance novels-- and I loved hanging out with her. She was delighted when I turned 16 and could drive her where ever she wanted to go. She had never learned to drive--so that year "I" (the experienced driver at 16) taught her how to drive-- using my parents sporty mustang. We would go to the mall parking lot about 11 at night and she would drive all around the parking lot. That was it--she never drove on the road--but every summer for years I would take her to the mall and let her drive late at night. I think that this was the same year that she convinced me to smoke with her during the canasta marathon. She assured me that it wouldn't hurt me and it would be fun! ( I don't think my parents ever really forgave her for that!) I taught her to play golf when she was 82--she loved it. She would hit the ball and it would go a little ways out in front of her and she would ask me if that shot was a 'birdie' or a 'bogey'. She was too funny--and obviously watched golf on TV. She wanted to play every day that summer. She would make it nine holes without every riding in a cart! After I married she would come to visit my husband and I for a month every summer--we carried on the summer tradition until she passed away. She took vacations with us and went along with everything we were doing--she was always up for trying something new! One of my fondest memories was on one of our last vacations with her. We had mamaw and Duffy (our first sheepie) with us at the beach. Every night she and Duffy slept together in the second bed in the room (we could only afford one room) so we were all in there together! Through the night he would get closer and closer to her and crowd her on a little corner of the bed on her side so she would get up and go around to the other side of the bed and get in on that side and he would inch in the other direction until she would get up again and go around to the other side rather than make his bum move! She would just laugh as she played ring around the bed. None of us really got much sleep on that trip! She loved it--she treated Duffy as if he was one of her 'great grandchildren'! She would sit and talk to him and just carry on the best conversations with him--she adored that dog. We were always amazed as to how gentle he was with her as if he sensed that if he knocked her down--it wouldn't be a good thing. He would bound into us--but he was always cautious and careful around her. She was so much fun--I always loved hanging with her-- When out of duty I visited my other grandmother--she would have me spend the afternoons learning to 'iron' dishtowels and sew! That was just not my idea of a fun thing to do but I never let her know that-- she felt that it was something that every girl needed to learn. She truly enjoyed teaching me the 'domestic' side of life! She was a sweetheart too but when I had a choice of who to go stay with... Because I was so blessed by the time that I spent with both of them, when my daughter and son were growing up--I made sure that they had plenty of grandparent time even though we always lived 3 to 4 hours away. I always had to do a little 'retraining' on certain things when they came home but I think the time that my children spent with their grandparents really helped shape who they became as they grew older. They have some great memories and stores too! They miss them terribly-- I still smile at the memories of the days spent with my sweet mamaw! |
| ^^^^^^^^
Great story! Your mamaw was too cool. |
| I grew up in the country, while my grandparents did not - so kind of the reverse was happening at our house.
My paternal grandparents owned a resort in northern MN when I was growing up, so we spent a week there every summer staying in one of the cabins. I remember the pine and birch trees, the perfect sandy beaches. Lots of swimming and fishing. After they sold the resort, they built a house on part of the property that they kept - so we still had family vacations on the lake. One summer we rented a houseboat from the new owners and spent the whole week on the chain of lakes - complete with a litter of brittany puppies! Those pups ended up to be the best swimmers! My maternal grandma (grandpa died when I was very little) lived in a rural area in northern MN as well, and they had a gas station/bait shop/general store. The cool old fashioned kind, with the glass candy counter and everything! They lived behind/above the store. My sisters and I loved the cement minnow tanks with the sizes of minnows from tiny to huge. When I was still a child, grandma sold the business and moved into the nearby little town. She made the BEST jellies and preserves and had fabulous flowers. her basement had a trap door, and it was a highlight to go down into the wonderland of her supply of canned preserves, jellies and candied apples to pick a snack to take home! She also quilted and we all had quilts from her. It was a treat to see the quilts later on, as we donated all our old material from our sewing projects to her. It was fun to see the scraps from our own 4-H sewing projects live on in grandma's quilts. Now Todd and I are the grandparents, and we love having the grandkids here and be learning the fun of life on the farm. |
| I LOVE to read all of these stories. The way they are written just bring the memories to life. |
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