Last weekend, we celebrated the birthdays of both of my grandparents. My grandma turned 80 on February 2 and my grandpa turns 84 today! Sometimes it leaves me speechless when I think about all of the things they have seen in their lives. They were both born in Quebec, Canada speaking French as their native language. Before television. Before commercial flights. Before toilet paper (at least that’s what my grandma tells me but that almost seems too unbelievable)!
To speed up to my version of the story, they met, they wed, they had five daughters, and somewhere along the way, they moved to the United States. They have since worked incredibly hard to provide a wonderful life for each of their kids all while learning to speak English and get settled in a new homeland. They have welcomed several grandchildren along the way (that’s where I come in!) and have continued working hard to make each of our lives better.
For as long as I can remember, my grandparents have had a way of making each of us feel special – whether it’s my grandpa building a masterpiece from scratch out of the sawdust on his shop floor or my grandma pulling out all of the stops for one of the holidays so we could all learn just how great it was to literally make magic happen in front of our eyes! We have hunted for Easter eggs amongst the tall pine trees in their backyard and spent countless hours in their basement playing homemade games. While laughing the whole time.
The image below is from our party last weekend and even though I told my grandpa he looked like he was trying to squeeze my grandma until she popped, I love it because it reminds me of something I’ve learned from them – always keep your sense of humor about you.
I think it’s safe to say that everyone in my family lives by the examples they have set for us. Happy birthday Grandma and Grandpa!
