USA: Strong generational ties a must in age of technology, says editorial

. ST.GEORGE, Utah / The Spectrum / Editorial / May 12, 2009 David Bly, Editor My life hasn’t been my own lately. The home office has been taken over by a crib. The TV has been permanently tuned to children’s channels. Toys, shoes and books are scattered wall to wall. Meal times are chaos. Perhaps you’ve heard someone’s housekeeping skills praised thusly: “Why, you could eat off her floors!” Well, you could easily get three meals off ours. Grandkids. Three of them. They are so busy, though, that it seems like 10 times that many. Their accountant dad was up to his ears in tax season, so their mom packed them all up and came to stay with us for a few weeks. Soon they’ll be gone, and the house will suddenly seem twice as large. The floors will stay clean for more than an hour or two and we’ll store the herds of plastic toys that now inhabit the bathtub. We won’t have to pussyfoot around after bedtime and we will be able to choose the TV channels we watch. A great quiet will descend upon our home and we will sit back and revel in the peace. Then after about 15 minutes, we’ll start talking about much we miss them already. For a month or two, I’ll expect an enthusiastic “Gwampa!” as I come through the door. I’ll be looking for a welcoming, beaming, toothless smile from the high chair. I’ll continue to check the fridge to see what new crayon art works are on display. Being a journalist is just a sideline. My real job is being a grandpa. The salary isn’t much, but the benefits are endless. Our newest grandchild is not the youngest one. Janet recently went to South Korea with our son and his family, and we added Soo Mee Bly to our family. She just turned a year old, and is adjusting quite well to being the center of attention from two parents and three siblings, not to mention doting grandparents. Love always has a way of making room for more. We strive, as much as possible, to be part of our grandchildren’s lives, not to take over from their parents, but to enhance what they do, to give to our grandchildren what we got from our grandparents. Sometimes I think something’s missing because we don’t live on a farm. I guess that’s because in my childhood, my favorite thing to do was be with my grandparents on their farm. It was a place of unlimited adventure and exploring, but more important than that were the walks and talks with my grandparents. From them I learned about nature, about history, about the world. I was one of 12 children, and my parents had a full-time job providing the necessities. My grandparents had the time to take things at a little slower pace, to look at life from a more relaxed perspective. They had the knack of making each of their grandchildren feel special. It was a mild Christmas Eve the first time I headed out by myself for my grandparents’ farm. I knew it was a special place; I knew I would find adventure — and cookies, or some other treat. I was only two-and-a-half, and that trip is a family legend that has been much embellished over the years. And speaking of Christmas time, believing in Santa Claus was never an issue. We would hear the jangling of bells and would rush to the window to see the sleigh pull into our yard. Out would jump the jolly man in the red suit and black boots, and he would pass out gifts from the big sack he carried. Who needed some mythical Santa Claus? The Santa that came to our door was the real thing, and his magic was not diminished one whit by the knowledge that he was our grandpa. My grandmother liked to take walks along the creek and show me the different plants, teach me the names of the birds, share the joy of finding interesting rocks. Nearly 60 years later, I’m doing the same with my grandkids. Every one of them loves to explore; they all like to learn the names of things. They have an appreciation for nature passed down through me from their great-great-grandparents. The thread that links the generations is still strong. There is more than mere sentiment at play here. In this modern age, families scatter all over the globe, and it’s not always possible to just trot down the road to see Grandpa and Grandma. But technology lets us keep those bonds strong. Never has that been more important. Copyright ©2009 The Spectrum