Front porches bring back some unforgettable summer memories. The front porch in a White House off a dirt road in the middle of rural South Carolina is where I spent so many summers. This was my great grandparents house and I can remember the first time being dropped off thinking what am I supposed to do. My great grandparents didn’t have cable or satellite tv, and in fact had only four channels. One of the four channels had the Young and the restless, and became my favorite soap opera because that was a must watch everyday for my Great-grandma. When I wasn’t watching TV with her, you could find me on the porch snapping peas, running through the field looking for a watermelon, watching my grandma cook my favorite pig feet and greens, down at the landing catching crabs with my great-grandpa, or just sitting on the porch watching the cars go by at night.
( My great-grandparents house- oh the memories!)
That feeling of “why did my parents leave me in the middle of nowhere,” quickly fleeted as the summer went by. Summers in the country at my grandparents actually became a summer tradition that I looked forward to every year. My time with my great-grandparents really shaped who I am as a person, and my love for simple country living. Typically, as I sit on my own front porch I think about Great-grandparents, Sadie and Willie and my unforgettable memories with them.
This summer tradition of grandparent time is something I have also desired for my kids. I am blessed to have parents who have the flexibility to take my children off my hands for weeks at a time during the summer, and the kids look forward to their time at my parents' house. My parents are not local, so it is especially important for my children to go to their house to deepen their relationship with my parents. Their time away also gives me a well needed break as a single momma.
If your children are lucky enough to have living grandparents who are physically able and willing to take your kids off your hands I definitely encourage you to take that opportunity. I know oftentimes we as parents can be overprotective of our kids because grandparents often become these people unlike the parents we remember them as. With grandparents there is no screen time limit, bedtime routine, no candy limit and the list goes on. However, I have learned to trust my parents because I figured I turned out alright, and my kids often come back to me healthy and actually in such a refreshed state of mind.
Summer with the grandparents has become a permanent summer tradition for my kids. The memories being forged with their time with my parents will likely remain with them for life. There is not a day when sitting on my front porch or eating crabs that I do not think about Sadie and Willie, my great grandparents! For this reason, summer with the grandparents is a family tradition my house will keep, and I hope my children will also continue this tradition and send their kids to my home for the summer!
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