The Importance of Honoring Your Grandmother on Mother's Day
Mother's Day is right around the corner. Maybe you've already spent some time thinking about how you're going to honor your mom this year, but have you considered how you'll honor your grandmother? If not, it's time to start making plans!
Grandmothers are an incredibly important part of a family. Every grandmother is a mother by default — it's easy to forget, but your grandma was once a young mom raising your own mother or father. And even once their own children are grown and have families of their own, grandmothers never seem to lose that motherly instinct. They often become secondary mother figures to their grandchildren and provide valuable parenting advice to their adult children.
5 Reasons to Honor Your Grandmother
Whether you see your grandmother every week or just a few times a year, it's important to reach out this Mother's Day and let her know how much you appreciate her. Here are five reasons why you should make it a priority to honor your grandmother this year.
1. You wouldn't be here without your grandmother.
Without your grandmother, you could never have been born. This sounds like an obvious fact on the surface, but the more you think about it, the more profound it becomes. The current scientific consensus is that women are born with a single supply of eggs that will last their whole lifetime. These eggs are formed while the female fetus is still in her mother's womb. That means that your mother's egg that created you was formed inside your grandmother's body, before your mother herself was even born. Your grandmother carried part of you while she carried your mother!
2. Grandmothers provide guidance, wisdom, and insight.
A lot of things can only be learned through life experience, and grandmothers have plenty of that. They've seen just about everything. They've been through the tumultuous years of adolescence, navigated relationships, made big life decisions, and, of course, raised their kids throughout it all. Seniors are often portrayed as being stuck in the past, but the reality is that they've done a lot of learning and adapting over the years.
All of this life experience means that grandmothers can be a great source of advice and wisdom for both their children and their grandchildren. Many new (and not-so-new) moms turn to their own mothers for advice on aspects of childcare they're struggling with. And for many children and teenagers, grandma is the person to ask when they have a problem they don't know how to solve.
3. Grandmothers often play a big role in caring for grandkids.
No matter how much they love their kids, no parent can do it all. Many parents struggle to balance family, work, and the other demands of life. Grandmothers can help make this balancing act a little easier by caring for their grandchildren some of the time. Most grandmothers love spending time with their grandchildren (and vice versa!), so this is a winning situation for everybody. Some grandmothers even become mothers all over again, doing the bulk of the child-rearing if their son or daughter is for some reason unable to care for their own child.
4. A grandmother is a loving, trustworthy adult figure that kids can turn to.
Sometimes kids and teenagers just need to talk to somebody who isn't their parent. Maybe they don't see eye-to-eye with their parents on an issue, or maybe they just feel stuck and need an outside perspective. In a situation like this, many young people prefer to turn to their grandmother for advice, hugs, or just a listening ear. Grandmothers tend to know how to cheer their grandchildren up, and they can often help work out solutions to problems as well.
5. Grandmothers help their grandkids create memories that will be treasured forever.
Chances are good that some of your happiest memories from childhood involved your grandparents. Maybe you loved the weekends when grandma would babysit you while your parents went out, or you looked forward to family holiday get-togethers for weeks beforehand. For many kids, grandparents are an integral part of building happy family memories. This year, why not pick out a few of your favorite memories from the past and share them with your grandmother?
Grandmothers are an important part of the fabric of a family, and they deserve to be honored on Mother's Day just as much as younger moms do. Don't overlook grandma as you celebrate this year — be sure to send a card, give her a call, or visit in person to tell her how much she means to you.
Home Care Services for Grandmothers
In addition, consider whether your grandmother might benefit from home care services. Having even a part time home caregiver, especially if you and other family members can't visit her as much as you'd like, can greatly improve your grandmother’s quality of life.
Part of honoring your grandmother includes making sure that she gets the best possible care. Home care services can make a big difference in the lives of seniors who can't do things as easily as they used to be able to. A home caregiver can help your grandmother stay healthy, active, and happy, while taking care of household tasks that might be difficult for her.
Home care services will also give you the peace of mind of knowing that your grandmother has plenty of help around the house. If you think home care services might be a good option for your grandmother, please give us a call today!
