A well-deserved tribute to grandparents

Across Franklin County, local elementary schools have been giving students the opportunity to create lasting memories with some special people – their grandparents.

Grandparents have joined their grandchildren for yummy treats, questionnaires, performances and other special activities to mark the national day of recognition – which, if you didn’t know, has been an annual observance since 1978, according to a quick Google search.

I hope you have enjoyed seeing all the great photos of grandparents and grandchildren as much as I have. It makes me reflect on and appreciate my own wonderful grandparents.

James McFerrin, my father’s father, is a man with quick wit and deep love for the Lord and for his family. He always has a story or joke to tell. Before his retirement, Grandpa once owned and operated a large dairy farm in Fayetteville, Tenn., just across the state line. When he sold them farm, he was a postal worker for many years, running rural mail routes. In the past year, he and my grandmother moved to east Tennessee to live in the same city as my parents, and I love that now we get to see them more than ever.

Joyce McFerrin, my Grand, is a special lady in my life. When I was younger she used to sew dresses for me, and we went to visit she always had a treat that would make a little girl feel grown up – either a sample bottle of lotion or a free little purse from Clinique or similar. Grand taught me to think of broccoli as little trees and has tried her best to impart her wisdom on everything from a good story – as a retired school librarian – to gardening. Grand loves her family passionately and has always worked to make family get-togethers special.

My mother’s parents have both passed away, but although Pa Oval Hitchcock and Granny Betty Hitchcock have left this world, they will never leave my memory. I can recall many special spend-the-nights with Granny and Pa – complete with trips to McDonalds, Saturday morning cartoons, earning change for helping with chores and oh, more memories than I could ever recount. No matter what, Granny and Pa were always there for me.

When I married in 2012, three more grandparents became a part of my life. My husband’s Ma and Papa and his Mammaw have become dear people to me. They treat me just like one of their grandkids, and I hope they know how much I love them like my own grandparents. They would do anything in the world for us, and we feel the same. My husband and I are lucky because they all live on our street, and we enjoy the chance to see them frequently.

There is no one quite like a grandparent. If you don’t have a grandparent in your life, I hope you at least have cherished memories, as I do of my Granny and Pa. And before Grandparents Day is too far gone, maybe you could consider “adopting” a grandparent – maybe a sweet senior at church, a lonely neighbor or someone you often run into in your community. As Jimmy Carter said in his proclamation designating Grandparents Day in 1978, “They bore the hardships and made the sacrifices that produced much of the progress and comfort we enjoy today. It is appropriate, therefore, that as individuals and as a nation, that we salute our grandparents for their contribution to our lives.”