If you can think a story, and if you can write a letter or express your
thoughts orally or visually, then you can combine them into a message to
a grandchild. The more often you do it, the easier it becomes. If the
mechanics of writing or drawing is the problem, then audiotape. The
point is to interact and communicate with a grandchild so that the
youngster knows of your caring, and that caring is normal. Grandchild
will readily grasp that Grandma or Grandpa wants to share, and that
sharing is fine.
The type of communication most desired by my grandchildren until their
fifth or sixth years, and under the circumstances of the distance between
us, was the letter-story. The written stories evolved out of our infrequent
family get-togethers. Occasionally, an idea for a story called for follow-
up negotiations over the telephone to clarify plots, scenes, and characters.
My grandchildren liked the stories, and both they and I enjoyed the
discussions that preceded the writing. The give-and-take stimulated our
imaginations and creativity, and often provided me with opportunities to
pass along family history.
Today's youngsters know more about the world than children of
previous generations, one of the many benefits of our expanding
telecommunication capabilities and greater education and travel
opportunities. Youngsters get their view of the world from what they
see, hear, and learn from and about their families.
Letter stories, anecdotes and lore give grandchildren a better view of their
grandparents, and about what older adults believe. The process, if
positive oriented, contributes toward the grandchild's maturity, and offers
them encouragement, values, models, and incentives.
There are tens of thousands of homes across the land where treasured
possessions, tangible and otherwise, were created or acquired by the
occupants or their forebears. You have them in your home as I do in
mine. In time, those possessions: properties and artifacts, along with
their histories, will move along to your children and grandchildren. In
every culture, 'grandpa and grandma stories', along with 'mom and dad
stories,' are part of that inheritance.
When youngsters know that Grandpa or Grandma wrote a story
expressly for them, that more than qualifies the story for the special
collection of treasures to be shared with close friends, presented at
school as a show-and-tell, and eventually absorbed into the treasured
memorabilia of childhood.