Grandparents are special people who can’t be duplicated, replicated, or replaced. They fuel their families with family stories passed, wisdom and knowledge shared, and commitment and support provided–from cookie baking to babysitting to teaching their grandkids how to toss a ball, bait a hook, read a book, and navigate this big world.
The memories grandparents help to create for our children are immeasurable and priceless. It has even been said that having grandparents in their lives provides kids with a sense of hope, in that grandparents serve as role models who have seen the good and bad during their long lives and have weathered the storm – providing not just a good example, but a sense of comfort for little ones taking their first steps on their own life journeys.
In 1978, upon an idea proposed by West Virginia housewife, Marian McQuade, President Jimmy Carter declared National Grandparents Day a national holiday, which is celebrated every year on the first Sunday after Labor Day.
Here are just a few quotes in honor of grandparents everywhere.
“Grandparents, like heroes, are as necessary to a child’s growth as vitamins.”
“Nobody can do for little children what grandparents do. Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of little children.” –Alex Haley
“You may not have my eyes or smile, but from that very first moment you had my heart.” –Kathy Jeffords
“A garden of love grows in a grandmother’s heart.” –Author Unknown
“God knew that it doesn’t matter how your children get to your family. It just matters that they get there.” – Kira Mortenson
“A grandparent is a little bit parent, a little bit teacher, and a little bit best friend.” –Author Unknown
“One of the most powerful handclasps is that of a new grandbaby around the finger of a grandfather.” –Joy Hargrove
“Love is the greatest gift one generation can leave to another.” –Richard Garnett
“Being a grandparent isn’t a big thing, it’s a million little things.” –Author Unknown
“A child needs a grandparent, anybody’s grandparent, to grow a little more securely into an unfamiliar world.” –Charles and Ann Morse