Nana and Dada: Those Important to Me

Yesterday, we went to visit our grandparents in their house. Though it was a short visit, it was so nice to see them again. We miss them so much and wish we could visit in person more often.

"How come you're telling me this?" you might think. Unfortunately, I am unable to give you a good answer for that. But then again, it's just my grandparents we're talking about here.

I had a dream about my grandparents while napping in the afternoon, and I don’t know why. Maybe I just missed them so much that they appeared in my dreams.  I've been thinking about them a lot lately—how much time has passed since then? How old are they now? And because of that, I asked my parents whether we may pay them a visit, and happily, they agreed. This time, we made it almost a month without seeing them, which is the longest it's ever been. I think my parents were even more excited than I was about going to see them!

They live in another barangay so we don't get to see them as much as we'd like. We drove on Sunday morning after the mass and spent the whole day with them.  We got all of their favorite food: fried chicken, barbecue, pancit and chocolate cake! For dessert, they had ice cream. It's my grandma's favorite; she always asks for it whenever we visit them. Before eating our lunch, my grandpa took us fishing at the river down the street from their house. We caught a lot of fish and they were delicious!

My grandparents have always been my all-time favorite people. They aren't rich, but they've still managed to do so much for us. They are so humble. They spend most of their free time in nature and they are still in love as they were when they were young. They do not have many demands or needs. Life is a much more basic and uncomplicated than it is for us at present. They live in the same house that my mother grew up in, but it has been modernized and renovated a bit to fit our times. It's amazing to think that they have lived there since my mom was just a little girl! When my parents scold me, I just run to them and I’m saved. They've helped me get out of a number of sticky situations.

But now, they are already getting older, and it's hard to see them that way. We try to help them around the house when we visit because we want to make their lives easier. We know that with age comes many difficulties. They still have all of the love and humor they’ve always had, but they can’t do things as easily as they used to. Their bodies are slowing down and they tire more quickly than they once did. It is really difficult for us when we watch our grandparents get older because we know that one day, we will be in their place too. It makes us think about our own mortality and what kind of legacy we will leave behind when it’s our time.

I remember when I was younger, I'd drive over to their house in the afternoon and we'd spend hours playing board games together. In the evenings, we would watch Pinoy teleseryes, and sometimes grandma would even sneak me biscuits after dinner when my mom wasn't looking. I remember playing with my cousins at their house. We would run around and around the couch; it was a great game that we played for hours. Oh, how I miss those times with.

But as I got older, things changed a little bit. I didn't have time to visit as much during the week because of school, but we always made time for each other on the weekends. One of my fondest memories with them is going to their house every Saturday morning, eating chichirya and softdrinks from my grandmother’s sari-sari store while watching movies together with my cousins. We would always call grandpa on his way home from work to tell him about our day and see if he could come home early so that he could join us for dinner. They would all reminisce about years gone by and laugh at some of the crazy things that happen when they’re still young. They would talk about when they first met each other and how they fell in love with one another over time. They would also talk about what it was like to raise my mom and her siblings. I still remember all the tales they told us when we were children. Although, I am an adult now, still their stories fascinate me a lot.

When I look at my life today, I feel like I haven’t done enough for my family or for others yet (I am still young). The older I get though, the more I realize that time is really short so we should use it wisely. It felt great to be back in their home. It’s a place where I can relax and feel comfortable in my own skin. I can tell that my grandparents love having us over as much as we enjoy visiting them since, with everyone's hectic schedules these days, we don't get opportunities like this very frequently.

What about you? How long has it been since you spoke with your grandparents?

If it has been a while, why not make an effort and see if they need any help or if there's something you can provide for them. It will surely bring joy to them! I'm not sure whether you've had this experience with your grandparents, but I believe it's about time to show them how much we love and care for them. We should do it before it’s too late!

All photos are mine. Thank you!