Father’s Day: Lessons learned from Grandfather

Grammy Tanda wrote a mother’s day post about the lessons she has learned from her Grandmothers. And I’ve been thinking about the lessons I’ve learned from my two Grandfathers and from reading about the lives of my other ancestors.

I was fortunate to know both of my grandfathers when I was young. They were an important part of my life. They both lived in the same city where I grew up. Over the years, I have grown to admire and appreciate both of these wonderful men.

They were true pioneers, born and raised in the late 1800’s. They were men of integrity. Hard work was their friend. They built houses, planted orchards and gardens and flowers. They hauled freight with horses and wagons. My Grandpa Packer was also a rancher and a farmer. My Grandpa Webb owned a saw mill. He also made hundreds of thousands of bricks by hand.

Both of my grandfathers raised large families. They were good providers. They were religious men who taught their children honorable character traits, reinforced through their own examples.

In their older years, family gatherings and family reunions were very important to my grandfathers.

You have to do your own growing no matter how tall your grandfather was. ~Abraham Lincoln

I love being a grandpa myself. I follow in the traditions of my grandfathers, my father and father-in-law in having a fun time with the grandkids. They loved being funny, giving “horsy” rides on their knee, and back rides too.

I also love to play musical instruments with the grandkids, especially percussion instruments. We read lots of stories. We make up stories with the grandkids as the main characters. We tell funny jokes. A sense of humor is an essential requirement for grandfathers.

What are some of the valuable lessons you have learned from your grandfather? What do you admire and love about him? We look forward to reading your comments.

Wishing a Happy Father’s Day to each of our readers, fathers, and grandfathers.

- Grandpa Shayne

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