Guest Post Series: Jackie Cross of the blog "With Just a Bit of Magic"

Someone Special

Not that long ago I was asked by Belllower Books to write a guest post about
someone special in my life and I’ve been thinking about who I should write
about. There are so many people in my life who have been special for some
reason at some point in my life and I don’t think that I could write about
them all in one post.

Something finally came to me. I’m not sure why I didn’t think of it before…
I guess the time wasn’t right and that was why I hadn’t written this post
yet.

When I was younger my parents divorced and my siblings and I lived with our
mom. Because of this arrangement we didn’t see our dad that often or our
grandparents. For a long time I didn’t think or even realize that I was
missing out on something great by spending time with my grandparents.

It wasn’t until I was older and in middle school that things changed and I
moved to my dad’s house. At this point I saw less of my moms family and a
lot more of my dads. This was a great opportunity for me to get to know my
grandma better and spend some time with her.

I would spend weekends at her house doing nothing at all but being with her
and other weekends where we’d be out and about all weekend. These are times
that I look back on fondly and wish that she were still here with us.

It was with my grandma that I was introduced to Days of Our Lives, Another
World, and Murder She Wrote. We’d sit together and watch her favorite shows.
Shows that I admit that I became addicted too! I started watching the
daytime soaps pretty regularly.

We’d spend evenings out to dinner at a local restaurant and then go to a
movie in the adjacent theatre. I remember going to see Disney’s Jungle Book
with her when I was in high school and simply enjoying the evening.

By spending time with her I learned that I like Grape Nuts, red grapefruit
eaten with a grapefruit spoon, and that quiet time is good for everyone once
in a while.

Now I have children and I hope that they see how special their grandparents
are, what a treasure they are and take the opportunities that they have to
spend time with them. Learn from them and listen to what they have to say.

My grandmother was taken from me in 1992 due to heart issues. I think of her
often and the times that we spent together and the things I learned.

I would love to share a photo with you but I don’t have a digital copy of
one. But know that she was a strong, independent woman with red hair that
had a love of life!

This guest post is by Jackie Cross of the lovely blog "With Just a Bit of Magic".

*Note from Bellflower Books: We went from living in Chicago where our kids would only see their grandparents every six weeks or so, to moving back to our home town, with both sets of grandparents less than two miles away.  My children now see at least one grandparent every single day!!!  We can definitely see our kids benefitting from this extra daily love.  There is something truly special about the grandparent/grandchild relationship:)