The joy of being a grandparent defies explanation

Tuesday, September 22, 2009 4:35 PM CDT

Maybe you missed it. I hope not, though, because it is the best holiday of the year and it takes place on the first Sunday following Labor Day. It is the holiday of “Grandparents’ Day.”

Grandparents’ Day is the best holiday of the year because it combines all the other holidays into one glorious recognition of the perfect relationship. It combines the love of Valentine’s Day, the laughter of St. Patrick’s Day, and the excitement of the Fourth of July. It involves the birth of a baby like Christmas, the celebration of new beginnings like Easter and New Year’s Day, and a little of the chicanery of Halloween. It involves fat little things that remind us of Ground Hog’s Day. And it’s connection to Thanksgiving ... well, that goes without even saying.

Grandparents Day isn’t one of those commercial holidays where you are expected to buy things. It is impossible to buy the right thing for this holiday, unless, of course you can find some air freshener that has that “new baby smell” or if there is such a thing as a gift certificate for kisses and hugs. The fact that you are a grandparent IS the gift.

Grandparents Day was begun in 1970 by the mother of 15 children. Apparently raising her own children wasn’t such a joy because Marian McQuade, the founder of Grandparent’s Day, never started an initiative for “Parents’ Day.” But there must have been something about those 40 grandchildren she had that gave her enough pleasure that she contacted the governor of West Virginia to say, “Young man? Do you have a grandmother?” ... or something like that.

No matter how Mrs. McQuade proceeded to bring this special circumstance in life to the forefront of American society, it was indeed a noble effort. I wonder, though, how she did it. I wonder if she brought boxes of pictures before the politicians and proceeded to tell them about each of her grandchildren and the politicians just agreed to grant the holiday in order to get her to stop. Maybe she had her arms full of babies while toddlers held on to the hem of her skirt as she handed them cookies while their parents weren’t looking. Or maybe she just simply made the suggestion and everyone in their right mind knew that it was an idea whose time had come.

However the holiday came about, there is no denying that there is a joy about being a grandparent that defies explanation. While often there might have been uncertainty in our parenting, there is just as often, no uncertainty in our grand-parenting. It is as natural as breathing. The grandchildren are perfect and every moment that we spend with them is exhausting perfection.

I call it perfection and I am pretty sure that I’m not the only grandparent who is blind when it comes to grandchildren’s imperfections. Try as I might, I cannot see their imperfections. I have witnessed their parents scold them, but for the life of me I can’t figure out why. I can’t see what they are doing wrong. I guess their halos must get in the way.

If you missed celebrating Grandparents’ Day this year, start preparing for it next year. Get your treats ready. Make sure you have a good book handy and a blanket for cuddling. Have walking shoes by the door so you can explore the world in new ways with your little ones. Polish up the old family stories that your children didn’t want to hear, but your grandchildren will be fascinated by.

If you are not a grandparent yet, but you have children who are whiling away their adult years in frivolous pursuits of golf, careers, or some meaningless forms of enjoyment, you still have three months to remind them of the importance of this upcoming holiday.

If you are already a grandparent, rest up and be ready to revel in the perfection of that reward that comes after years of staying up with your own sick children, teaching them manners, limping through their education with them, and waiting up into the wee hours of the morning on prom night.

Be ready to say, “It was all worth it.”

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