Celebrate Grandparents (and other seniors) Day Everyday!

In case you missed it, yesterday was Grandparents Day. It’s ok though, you can call or send a belated card to a senior you love—I bet the grandparents in your life will still appreciate it!  

Grandparents are important.  

Growing up, my grandmother lived with my parents so I spent a lot of time with her. Whenever she was busy doing things around the house she would always let me sit in front of the TV. After she finished everything she needed to get done, she would sit with me and watch whatever I was watching. Although my grandmother’s English was very limited, I made sure she knew the words to Barney’s I love you song.

She taught me the important things like how to tie my shoes, say please and thank you, and made my favorite food (which, at the time was Macaroni and Cheese).  

Not only do grandparents have an impact on us as important people in our lives, they also make up a large part of the population.  

According to the American Grandparents Association, grandparents represent one-third of the population with 1.7 million people becoming grandparents every year. Not only that, grandparents lead 37% of all U.S. households in this country. Data also shows that by 2015 nearly 60% of grandparents will members of the baby boomer generation.

The best part is that 6.2 million all U.S. households are now multigenerational — up from 5 million in 2000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey.  

At H.O.M.E., we know that multigenerational and intergenerational relationships enhance our understanding of one another and are something that should be celebrated!  (Check out our Intergenerational Housing program.)

That’s where Grandparents Day comes in!    

In case you were curious, here are some fast facts about Grandparents Day came to be:

• In 1970, a West Virginia housewife, Marian Lucille Herndon McQuade, initiated a campaign to set aside a special day just for Grandparents. (Fun fact: She had 15 children, 40 grandchildren, and 8 great grandchildren!)

• The holiday was officially established in the United States in 1978 through presidential proclamation by President Jimmy Carter

• Grandparents Day is celebrated the first Sunday after Labor Day every year.

Although Grandparents Day has passed, every day is an opportunity to honor and celebrate your grandparents. Generations United has some great ideas on how to do that!

• Celebrate them by getting them flowers! The official flower of the U.S. National Grandparents Day is the Forget-me-not

• Change your Facebook profile to a picture with your grandchildren or your grandparents

• Organize an intergenerational dialogue with your family, friends, and/or neighbors to discuss how may be able to incorporate intergenerational values into your daily lives

• Visit some of your grandparents’ favorite places and listen to what they have to say and the stores they want to share, you never know what you make lean

• Volunteer somewhere with your grandparentsCook and share a meal together

• Follow the hashtag #DoSomethingGrand on Facebook and Twitter to see how other people are celebrating

• Learn the lyrics to the Official Grandparents day song "A song for Grandma and Grandpa"!

• Encourage your friends and family to visit or contact their grandparents (and other older adults you may know)

Although my grandmother is no longer with me, I celebrated this Grandparents Day by making macaroni and cheese and remembering all of the things that she taught me.

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