As much as I love my grandparents, they have a particular way of getting on my nerves. Over the years, I have become aware of my favorite things about them that I love while working on my pet peeves about their habits.
Love: Pie, cookies, and sweets
One of the reasons why I love my grandmother is all the baked goods she makes. She makes the best chocolate chip cookies, the best pie, and there’s no limit to how many you can have.
Love: Compliments
My grandparents always shower me with compliments on whatever I do. If I paint something simple, it’s like I’m Van Gogh. If I bake something, they say it’s the best cake they’ve ever eaten.
Annoyance: My grandparents ask me what classes I’m attending
If I were in college, I would be more understanding of this behavior. It’s one thing if I’m in college, but this is something my grandparents do, and it’s become one of my pet peeves. It seems like a simple question, but you have to keep doing the same core classes in grade school. Math, English, History, Science, are the core classes that you have to take. Asking what courses I’m in is going to result in the same awkward answer every time.
Love: General helping you out
No matter what it’s about, my grandparents are there to reach out to help. Whether it’s teaching you how to do something or assisting you with a school project, they always try to help you.
Love: Presents
I can always rely on my grandparents for generous gifts. Whether it’s Christmas or birthdays, I’ll still experience the guilty pleasure of getting most everything I want.
Love: Stories and sharing their experiences
One of my favorite things about my grandparents is that they are like a live and walking history book. They have cool stories and experiences to share from back then, and it’s always fun to hear about it.
Annoyance: Conversation Topics
When they’re not engaging me with telling me great stories, sometimes it feels like my grandparents struggle for conversation topics. I’m looking for something more than school or the weather when I talk to them. I wouldn’t mind if I were talking to a stranger, but they’re family. Those conversation topics get old.
Love: Hearing about my parents as a kid
Another fun thing is when I hear and see what my parents were like as a kid. Sometimes it’s hard to imagine that my parents were once my age, and to hear about how they were is always fun.
Love: Going to my grandparents’ house
Going to my grandparents’ house once in a while is one of the most fun things. I get to eat whatever I want, and we can do fun stuff all day. They tell me stories, and we both have fun together.
Annoyance: Dropping in unannounced
Dropping in unannounced is another pet peeve of mine. My grandmother always comes by unannounced and makes things awkward. Usually, my parents are out, in the shower, or the middle of something, and then she comes in. How hard is it to send a text and ask?
Love: My grandparents’ house has cool old stuff
One fun part about going to my grandparents’ house is they always have cool old things there. I get to see old pictures and sculptures and models of all kinds of cool stuff. And the best part is, there’s always a story behind it as well.
Love: Old-fashioned
Another fun part of my grandparents is how old they are. They grew up in a completely different era, and they still have old habits that they do. It’s fun to see their mannerisms, whether reading the newspaper or the food they buy and eat. They also have old sayings that I’ve never heard.
Annoyance: Christmas Letters
Speaking of old-fashioned, they still write Christmas letters and spend the money to mail them physically. Now I know this isn’t something every grandparent does, but my grandparents sure do it. My grandparents write up a Christmas letter with a cringe-worthy element that references my family or me every Christmas. This letter has, on several occasions, contained a picture of us. The problem is they can never get these right. There’s always some picture or piece of information in there that we find horrible. One time they called our car a ‘Serenity’ instead of a ‘Clarity.’ One time they exaggerated that my 13-year-old brother was ‘6 ft’. And the worst of all, the pictures. Whatever they do to the photos, they end up so so warped and messed up. I look like I’m cross-eyed, half-martian, half-ogre. And I’m not judging my picture; this is a collective agreement. Everybody ends up looking horrible, and this all gets sent-off to people far and wide. I don’t understand why they never bother to run it by us for approval.
Love: Grandparents have unusual, useful skills
Since my grandparents grew up so many years ago, they have practical skills to teach you. I’ve learned gardening, woodworking, and baking from my grandparents.
Annoyance: Licking before turning a page
I’ve gotten used to this old-timey thing now, but I never understand its need. I have never in my life felt the need to lick my finger to help turn the page. Plus, you both consume and spread germs when doing that.
Love: My grandparents’ relationship
One of my favorite things about my grandparents is that they have managed to spend all their years together. Their relationship is rather cute in some ways. After so many years together, they still care for each other in little ways, like making each other tea.
LOL!
You’re young. You have no idea of the “joys of parenting” Even good kids are a pain sometimes.
Waking you up at 3am because “there’s a bear in my room”
Interrupting your favorite show because “she won’t stop touching me!”
Finding the stash of your favorite snack and eating it all.
Begging for months for a special toy for Christmas or birthday then spending more time playing with the box it came in.
And on and on.
When your grandparents come over unannounced it isn’t from lack of consideration.
IT’S PAYBACK!