Grandparents

As Noah gets older he's more and more able to go to the local playground and play on the equipment there, which he really loves. Stacy also likes to get Noah out of the apartment, and she's seen it as a real opportunity to meet other moms. Last week Stacy came to me a little bit discouraged, after a lady for the umpteenth time explained to her how she should dress Noah, and told me that the only ladies at the park are grandmothers. I was really surprised by that. I said there must have been at least 20 kids at the park today, but that day all the moms were grandmas.

One aspect of the Bosnian culture that I really respect is the role that most grandparents play in raising children. Our neighbors, for example, take their children to their grandparent's house almost every weekend and talk to them on the phone throughout the week. Some parents have the grandparents watch their children out of necessity, but many times it's just what happens. The grandparents are included in the rearing of children from all social classes, rich and poor. It is not uncommon, for example, for a father in smaller towns and villages to buy/build a house that has a floor for their sons, so that when they get married their son's family can live on one of the floors (each floor is like a self-contained apartment with a kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom).

As one who has spent a lot of time with my grandmother (I lived with her for over five years during my college years), and spent many nights with my great grandmother during my early years, I can say that the experience of having learned from those who are two and three generations older than I has been very enriching. Some may have only read or watched movies about WWII or the Dust Bowl (My family were Okies who were apart of the great migration to California). I had the privilege of hearing stories first hand and have more insight to the emotions, the struggles, and the sacrifices made by so many in those times than from anything I could read in a book. Stacy sometimes comments on my vocabulary like, "how old are you... you sound like an old man." Granted, spending all that time with my grandparents may have made me less "cool", but my hope is that I may have gained just a portion of their wisdom.