How influential were your grandparents in making you who you are today?

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BayouSizzle
LSU Fan
New Orleans
Member since Jan 2016
35 posts

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not as big an influence as you have been in your all-too-brief time here

My paternal grandfather was my greatest influence. He was a tough Marine who lost a leg to a mortar on Iwo Jima, but never let it slow him down and lived a long productive life without complaint.

All he wanted was a great life for all of us.

My dad's dad, a lot.

I lost one when I was 5, but the other 3 are still around.
2 of them were half responsible for raising me. They babysit us from a young age.

They were critical in development and I think many of my most important values were derived from that time. Politically and socially I am radically different than most of my family though that's pretty common for this generation

100%, since the made my parents.

My maternal grandmother passed a couple of years before I was born. My maternal grandfather passed less than a year after I was born.

My paternal grandparents were around a good bit, but not really everyday or anything. My sisters and I would spend occasional weekends with them at their second home on the north shore. My sisters would do craft type stuff and some cooking with my Granny, and I would do woodworking and yard type of stuff with my Gramps. We would all play cards together at night. I remember we went on one trip with them to north Mississippi to their small home town for them "to show us their roots."

We grew apart some when I got to my teenage years. Some was my being a little teenage shite and not making the effort. Some was that my Dad and them sold the family business around then, so I didn't really see them around the store anymore. My Dad was used to seeing them everyday, so he didn't go out of the way to get us together outside of the normal holiday get togethers. Part was that my father was a bit of a black sheep, and he didn't raise us to be really religious like them.

After my Dad got sick about 6 years ago, they did a lot to help take of him, and I started to spend a little more time around them. Both of them passed this last year, so I have been thinking about this a lot. There were a lot of lessons that they were instrumental in helping to teach me. Or trying to help to teach me at least. My Gramps tried to teach me the importance of being presentable. When he would see me when I was young he would exclaim for me to get the rat nest out of my hair. Then he would pull the comb out of his front pocket and fix the knots in my hair. He also helped to teach me the importance of integrity. My Granny taught me to act like a gentleman, to treat women with respect. She expected it. Both of them taught me the importance of family, especially when you need it the most.

All in all I'd say that my grandparents were very influential over me, even though I often wondered about how close we were and how much they really knew about me.

None. Too old and I didn't see them often.
Like once or twice a year average.

Secondmost important woman in my life is my grandmother. Maybe my first!

Only one grandmother on my dad's side was alive when me and my sibs were born. She taught us to be kind and considerate to all others. She also told us boys to present ourselves with confidence, stand up straight with good posture, and be proud of who we are.... So, good