A grandpa remembers

Yesterday, I got to spend the day with my granddaughter and grandson. It was a good day, but when it was all over I kind of felt my age. It got me thinking about the differences in age and understanding of the world around us. A part of my responsibility as the Grandpa is to help to keep them rooted on this that really matter and to give them a perspective of life that they will not get from anyone else. I’ve lived a different life than they are going to live. I’ve had different experiences and I look at life from the other end of it. It also will my challenge to keep abreast of the all the latest gadgets and be ready for them to teach me a think or two. My granddaughter, who is only 29 months, is using the Itouch and I cannot do that!

These thoughts and many more raced through my mind last evening as I walked around my subdivision. Boy do I have a heavy responsibility … and a very cherished one at that!

This morning I came across this little “down memory lane” idea … btw, sent to me by the grandchildren’s mother (my daughter) years ago. I think she was giving a few hints then concerning my roll that I would be fulfilling today.

If you have grandchildren, remember your responsibility is to keep them grounded on things that really matter! And, to enjoy them, they make the day worth it.

How old is Grandpa??? ~Author unknown

Stay with this -- the answer is at the end. It will blow you away.

One evening a grandson was talking to his grandfather about current events. The grandson asked his grandfather what he thought about the shootings at schools, the computer age, and things in general.

The Grandfather replied, "Well, let me think a minute, I was born before:
television, penicillin, polio shots, frozen foods, Xerox, contact lenses, Frisbees and the pill.

There were no: credit cards, laser beams or ball-point pens.

Man had not invented: pantyhose, air conditioners, dishwashers, clothes dryers, and the clothes were hung out to dry in the fresh air and man hadn't yet walked on the moon.

Your Grandmother and I got married first, . . . then lived together.

Every family had a father and a mother.

Until I was 25, I called every man older than me, "Sir".
We were before gay-rights, computer-dating, dual careers, daycare centers, and group therapy.

Our lives were governed by the Ten Commandments, good judgment, and common sense.

We were taught to know the difference between right and wrong and to stand up and take responsibility for our actions.

Serving your country was a privilege; living in this country was a bigger privilege.

We thought fast food was what people ate during Lent.

Having a meaningful relationship meant getting along with your cousins.

Draft dodgers were people who closed their front doors when the evening breeze started.

Time-sharing meant time the family spent together in the evenings and weekends-not purchasing condominiums.

We never heard of FM radios, tape decks, CDs, electric typewriters, yogurt, or guys wearing earrings.

We listened to the Big Bands, Jack Benny, and the President's speeches on our radios.

And I don't ever remember any kid blowing his brains out listening to Tommy Dorsey.

If you saw anything with 'Made in Japan ' on it, it was junk.

The term 'making out' referred to how you did on your school exam.

Pizza Hut, McDonald's, and instant coffee weren’t unheard of.

We had 5 &10-cent stores where you could actually buy things for 5 and 10 cents.

Ice-cream cones, phone calls, rides on a streetcar, and a Pepsi were all a nickel.

And if you didn't want to splurge, you could spend your nickel on enough stamps to mail 1 letter and 2 postcards.

You could buy a new Chevy Coupe for $600, … but who could afford one?
Too bad, because gas was 11 cents a gallon.

In my day: "grass" was mowed, "coke" was a cold drink, "pot" was something your mother cooked in and "rock music" was your grandmother's lullaby.

"Aids" were helpers in the Principals office, "chip" meant a piece of wood,
hardware" was found in a hardware store and "software" wasn't even a word.

And we were the last generation to actually believe that a lady needed a husband to have a baby. No wonder people call us "old and confused" and say there is a generation gap... and how old do you think I am?

I bet you have this old man in mind...you are in for a shock!

Read on to see -- pretty scary if you think about it and pretty sad at the same time.

Are you ready?????

This man would be only 59 years old!

Quote for today: A day without grandchildren is a day without sunshine. ~Jim Martin