Your grandparents

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Are they still alive? How do your relations look like? Do you meet them often?

I knew only my mother's parents while I never had an occasion to meet my grandparents on the sword side, I know only their names. All of them are already dead. We lived with my mum's parents until I was 6 and even later we used to visit them almost every weekend. I was my grandma's favourite grandchild; she always bought me sweets and toys and favored me, letting me do practically everything I wanted. I didn't know my grandfather who died of pneumonia 11 years ago too much - he was extremaly tacticurn and seemed not to have a personality - in fact the thing I remember the best was that he couldn't pronounce the sound "r" and did it as the Frenchmen do it what he was very ashamed of.

I don't know about my father's parents, but I know about my stepfather's parents, and about my mum's parents.

Both of the grandfathers I knew about died relatively recently (one of an aneurysm, and one of pancreatic cancer), but I still have both of my grandmothers around. I don't meet my dad's mother than often, but my mum's mum has moved into our hometown, so we see a lot more of her. When I went round to my maternal grandparents' house as a child, they would always have a tape of cartoons that we could watch (they would tape them from the TV so that we could have something to occupy us ), and my paternal grandparents' house had a lot of books that I could sit and read.

I couldn't generally tell if there are physical similarities, but old photos of my grandfathers have shown me that there are definitely similarities in terms of facial structure, and I think my mum has definitely inherited her father's tough streak (although she's often a lot more mellow, like her mum). And my stepdad is so laid back that if he were to relax any more he'd fall over backwards, just like his dad

Hmmm... well I knew all 4 of my parents parents. I even knew my moms grandmother who did not die until I was 11!! !

Both my moms parents are alive, and my fathers parents, his mom died when some kid ran a stopsign and hit her car, and her husband or my dads dad died shortly after her.

I loved all of my grandparents and wish I had more time with them.

All four of my grandparents are alive and well.

My father's family, including his parents, is not only very religious (Catholic), but also very strange. I suspect it's where my Asperger's comes from - there seems to be a definate current of weirdness in his family. They're also 1950s Leave-It-To-Beaver types, and wouldn't understand anything outside the ordinary, let alone Asperger's. As such, I make a point of staying well away from them. They're even odder and more out-to-lunch than I am.

My mother's family, on the other hand, could not be more different. They are all liberal, open-minded, and decidedly not religious. Her parents have always been nice, patient, and understanding with me, more than anyone else. I do suspect that they're starting to go a bit batty, though.

out-to-lunch = crazy
leave-it-to-beaver = trapped in the 1950s and out of touch with reality

I have no living grandparents, my paternal grandfather (whom I never have met) died when I was like pre-teens I think and my maternal grandmother passed away July 1997, my paternal grandfather died in April 2001 (when my oldest son was 2.5 months old, Dylan was the first great grand-son on that side of the family as well as on the paternal side), and my paternal grandmother passed away in March 2004 (when my youngest was nearing a year old).

I have no living grandparents either, although this year has been an especially hard one. My maternal grandmother (the one that I was super close with) died on 21 June. My paternal grandmother died on 7 August. My grandfathers died 18 years ago.

My mother was adopted as a baby so I only ever knew her adoptive father. He fought in both World Wars, including Paschendale in WW1...one of few survivors from that battle. I remember going with my mother when I was about 5 and 6 to visit him in the home. I would sit and ask him a lot of questions and would play piano and sing to all the residents...was quite a confident little thing back then.

My dad's side, I only knew his mother. His father died before I was born. She was like me in many ways....well, like I am now. Not a very warm, huggy person. Loved antiques and restored antique furniture. Loved the countryside and always lived in countryside and had farm animals, cats and dogs. She always had a lot of bits and pieces around her cottage that I loved to look at and pick up. She once gave me a rabbit made of animal bone. Lost it sometime along my life.

I have fond memories of time at her place as I loved the homeliness of her cottage, the animals, the smells, the tea made with goats milk and just the mess...my mother was an obsessive cleaner so it was nice to not have to worry about putting things neatly etc.

I remember at weekends often, my gran, dad and I would go to antiques fairs. I loved them. I was always looking for old things.

Only my paternal grandmother is still alive, she is now 95 years old and has Alzheimer's disease.

All of my grandparents are dead.

My mom's dad died when I was two...I only have some very hazy memories of him...He was in the Navy in WWII...was missing in action and presumed dead after his ship went down, but was found...All my mom said about him was that he didn't really ever like to talk about anything and seemed distant and detached...also he would hunt squirrels in the back yard for food...and that his real dad was an Irish immigrant (from northern Ireland) and ran off when he was an infant, and he was adopted by his step dad.

My mom's mom died of brain cancer when I was 15. ....Had a vegetable garden, had worked for years in the fabric department at JC Penneys and chain smoked Lucky Strikes...liked watching sports...was also in the millitary in WWII...My sister and I spent alot of time at her house in the summers....

My dad's dad is the son of Czech immigrants and I recall that he said he didn't learn to speak fluent English till he was 13. His family spent time moving around between Chicago and Czechloslovakia and eventually settled in Houston....My great grandfather had a business in the concrete industry making walkways and ventialtion systems for old houses...he also patented a house that was made entirely out of concrete...
My grandfather went to Rice University and spent years as a chemical engineer (or something like that)..for standard oil, which became Exxon....He spent hours in this tiny office that was crammed to the brim with shelves and shelves of technical manuals...he also never ever threw anything away and collected and stored everything....empty milk cartons...yogurt cups...etc..etc..etc...After he died, (when I was 18 or so)....my uncle found about 20 umbrellas in his car....and a couple dozen cans of Off (mosquito spray)..that's just an example...

My dad's mom was also Czech/American...was pleasant and jolly and had a huge collection of costume jewelry organized in several large platic boxes with dozens of tiny little drawers....and little ceramic miniatures..She made interesting crafts for church bazaars....and had a big collection of toys for me to play with when I went to their house...but always supervised, because alot of the toys were very old....She more-or less was the one who taught me to sing...that's most of what I remember...she died when I was about 8 or 9..I think.

Mother didnt want me so she gave me to her parents, they where the nicest people I evr met and the only real family I ever Knew, but Grandma died when I was 3 and Grandad when I was 5

I only have one grandparent left alive now. My grandma died in May this year and one grandpa died before I was born and the other one I didn't really know. My other grandma is still alive and is very active and healthy for her age. I get along with her pretty well, though at times she can be very annoying. We visit her often, as does she.

I never knew my maternal grandparents; my grandfather died of lung cancer when my mother was 17, and my grandmother died when my mother was 19 (I think it was also of lung cancer, but I'm not positive). Both of them smoked heavily. They were in their 40s when my mother was born; she wasn't a planned child (not that you ever would have known; they treated her no differently, of course). They were both German (I think it was their parents that immigrated, but again, I'm not sure), and they were very poor. They were both religious (Catholic), and both of them were concerned with manners, politeness, ect. My grandfather was drafted into WWII; he was part of the troops that stormed the beaches during D-Day (he lived). At one point, he was missing and presumed dead; however, he was found later on. He was supposedly very big into poetry and carried a poetry book my grandmother had given him. He went blind shortly before he died, and he counted stairs. My grandmother liked to bake and gave my mother a notebook with all her recipes; her handwriting is as bad as my mother's, which is saying something. She was a housewife and favored perms for her female children. That's all I really know about either of them. I still can't spell their last name.

Both of my paternal grandparents are still alive; I've known them all my life (for the first eight years, we lived half an hour away from them (or less, for six of the years)). They grew up in Ohio and met at OU; my grandfather was a technical engineer, and my grandmother became a housewife. She liked to bake and sew; she gave my mother her wedding dress and hand sewed the veil. My grandfather had a woodshop (he still has it); they moved to Georgia after having children (I don't remember when). Both of them smoked; my grandmother quit before she had children, and my grandfather still smokes. It used to be just limited to the basement/woodshop, but he's now smoking in the study as well; they're beyond cleaning and caring. They were poor, at least when they were raising my father and uncles, but no where near as bad as my mother's parents. My grandfather has always been distant and gruff, and he's not big on affection at all; I've always liked him though. He has a big nose, darkish skin, and a bald spot, but his hair is only gray around the temples; it's mostly still black. He also has quite a belly, but his arms and legs are very thin. He always wears broad striped short-sleeved shirts with jeans and suspenders. He's very stubborn, and he doesn't like hospitals; a few years ago, he fell and cracked his skull. The next morning, he was trying to rip out the IVs so he could go home. My grandmother used to be very happy and warm; she would make a big deal out of the grandkids (my brother and I are the only ones for her; we're two out of six for my maternal grandparents). She liked hosting family get-togethers, and she used to wear her grey hair in pink curlers. She hated driving, especially on the highway; she would stop at the bottom of the entrance ramp and say, "They won't let me on." (The highways around there say 55 mph, but that really means 85.) They always have pets; at the moment, it's one cat and one dog.

Now she refuses to drive, although they still have her car. She's very sick, and she refuses to take her medication or follow her diet; it's not uncommon for her to be in the hospital every few months. She doesn't remember anything you tell her for more than 15 minutes, and she's very hostile. If she takes her medication (which was a feat that her brother could make her do, but the show me how excuse only worked a few times, and he lives in Ohio as well), she's a lovely woman; unfortunately, she almost never takes it. My grandparents fight constantly because of it. The dog isn't going to last long either (the cat was feral, and is still quite able to take care of herself); he can barely walk down the road. He's something like 50 pounds, and he's a pug. I won't stay in their house for more than 15 minutes; they've forgotten how to clean, and there's dog waste all over (they never did learn how to train him). My uncles won't go over at all. It's really kind of a shame; they were good people, and now it's all just falling apart. My grandfather is ok now, but I don't know how long he'll last without her, and she's not going to last long at all.

None of my grandparents are alive any longer. My maternal grandfather died at 70. My paternal grandmother died at 71. I still miss her today. She was the only one of my four grandparents I was ever close to.

My maternal grandmother lived to be 88. I was not close to her at all. My paternal grandfather died last year at 91. I didn't like him at all. I thought he was a bully.

My grandpa on my dad's side of the family is my only grandparent who's alive, out of the four of them. I see him about twice a year and we get along very well.