A True Grandmother's Love

Growing up, we didn’t have a close relationship with our grandparents. On my mother’s side, my grandmother passed away when I was 15. She wasn’t the best grandmother per say to be happy to see us when we visited every summer. We lived in the U.S., and she lived in Mexico. Every summer, we spent it with her, but she would always sit outside and ignore us. My grandfather passed away when my mother was two years old. My grandmother remarried, but like her, he ignored us and wouldn’t come home when we were there. Who knows where he stayed those three months.

On my father’s side, what can I say. They lived well into their 90’s and lived a mile away from us. They didn’t acknowledge us at all as their grandchildren. They didn’t like my mother so therefore, they claimed we were not my dad’s children. We all look like his sisters. So, there’s that.

Growing up, we didn’t know that such relationships with grandparents existed. Since we didn’t have a relationship with ours and we thought this was normal. It was when I met my husband’s grandmother that had me longing for that type of relationship. I didn’t realize we had always been rejected by both sides of our grandparents until I met her. She was the sweetest grandmother I had ever met. She sincerely loved with all her heart. She loved me from the moment she met me. She babied me, hugged me, kissed my cheek, and held my hands. She would be genuinely excited to see me. She treated me as one of her own grandchildren. It brings me to tears thinking of her acceptance that we never had with our own grandparents.

I married my husband at the age of 15. No, it wasn’t because I was pregnant either. We just wanted to get married. We eloped a month after I turned 15. We lived together for nine months before we officially tied the knot. Then exactly nine months later, we had our only child, a son.

My husband’s mother wasn’t too fond of me because we married young. But she didn’t matter in my life. I was always excited to see his grandmother because she was always happy to see us. We visited her almost every weekend and we essentially grew up with her being so close in our lives. Our son as soon as he was able to walk and talk, would love to see her every time we went. Knowing that my son had the same love from his great-grandmother that his father received gave me peace.

My parents were very happy when I had a baby. Ok, not at first, but any typical Mexican family knows exactly how their parents react when the news a pregnancy at a young age happens, then they magically turn into the greatest grandparents for your children. Am I wrong? I don’t think so.

While I was pregnant, I told her that I wanted to crochet a blanket for my son. Needless to say I spent my entire pregnancy crocheting and I wasn't able to finish it. The day my son was born, she finished the blanket and took it to the hospital so I could bring my son home with it. She was just an amazing person. When my son was 24, we thought we had lost his blanket and she made him another one. Exact same pattern, but different colors.

She passed away four years ago and it was one of the best funeral’s to see the entire family come together and reminisce about her loving character. Everyone had beautiful things to say about her.

It also amazes me how there have been many people in my life who are older and treat me like their grandchild. At the time, I didn’t see how powerful God worked in my life to let me see and feel the grandparent relationship until now that I’m older. In my forties, I look back and see how they were brought into my life and I will be eternally grateful to have met them. But the one that will always hold a special spot in my heart will be my husband’s grandmother.