Granparents Rock!

I know many people who have lost their grandparents in their lifetime. Crazily, I have five of them! I have 2 grandmothers, 2 grandfathers, and one great grandmother. I've come to the realization that I have been quite ungrateful for this. Before this past week, I hadn't talked to my grandparents much, unless something was wrong or I needed something. It wasn't that I didn't love them, but rather, I never outwardly showed it. I felt that that should change.


Just today, I talked to my mother's mother and her father. I enjoy them very much. But sadly, before today, I had never called them just to talk. Of course we have had plenty of conversations in person, but there haven't been many times where i sought out interaction with them. I can't think of any reason why thought. I just assumed that they loved me the way that I loved them. Which today was confirmed by my grandmother, but nevertheless, it is always good to SHOW someone you love them (and that you're thinking about them), even if they know its true. Me and my grandmother (grandma Florine) had the most AWESOME conversation about love today. She is such a wise and beautiful lady. We talked about love, friendship, and God. She shared with me some great little poems that I'd like to share with YOU :)

Who has seen the wind?

Who has seen the wind?

Neither I nor you:

But when the leaves hang trembling

The wind is passing thro'

Who has seen the wind?

Neither you nor I:

But when the trees bow down their heads

The wind is passing by.

_____________________

Make new friends, but keep the old;
Those are silver, these are gold.
New-made friendships, like new wine,
Age will mellow and refine.
Friendships that have stood the test -
Time and change - are surely best;
Brow may wrinkle, hair grow gray,
Friendship never knows decay.
For 'mid old friends, tried and true,
Once more we our youth renew.
But old friends, alas! may die,
New friends must their place supply.
Cherish friendship in your breast-
New is good, but old is best;
Make new friends, but keep the old;
Those are silver, these are gold.
-Joseph Parry

_______________________

Part of our discussion was about love. Whether it was a sacrifice or not. We concluded that love is not meant for you to exhaust yourself and sacrifice ALL that you have, just for another person. However you can't love a person without some form of sacrifice. You must SHOW your love for another person, or they may not understand or even know how much you love them. That is when my grandmother sent me the poem about the wind. It is the perfect metaphor for why it is important to show someone how you feel. In addition to that, my grandmother dropped some words of wisdom without trying to be "quotey" and the words were profound to me. She said:

" Love is a noun AND a verb."- Florine Calhoun

Those were the perfect words for the question that had been scratching my brain recently. It remedied why some of my past friends and relationship partners may have felt that I lacked love for them. I used to suck at showing emotions and moreover love. But now I have some new words of wisdom, that I'm sure will help me in any instance where love is required.

Today I also discovered that my grandmother is just as "quotey" as me [if not more]. I look forward to future exchanges with her. When i was younger I remember always saying, "I want to be just like grandma Florine when I grow up. She's so graceful." I always used to brag about how smart and pretty she was and how I loved talking to her. Today she told me that she enjoys talking to ME and looks forward to our conversations. It made my heart smile really hard. :)

~Golden~