The smell of pipe tobacco floating faintly through the room or the sound of an accordion reminds me of my grandpas – the smell of pancakes or fresh mares of my grandmothers.
And so many of us have moments from before, the smells or sounds of which immediately take us back to childhood and make us reminisce about our grandparents. Our favorite moments come back. Just like back then, when grandpa, when he was the budgerigar breeder, brought several young birds into the approximately 80 square meter apartment and the little blue one happily hopped around on us and built nests in our hair.
Or when we were allowed to cook fresh jam with grandma and were the first to enjoy the treat – with the first spoonful, even before grandpa. It is often very small moments full of kindness and kindness that make our grandparents so special for us. Or the very special sense of humor that grandpa sometimes shows. Here are our favorite grandma and grandpa moments from the editors:
1. Grandma believed we were capable of everything
“My grandma always let us help everywhere. Because that’s what we really wanted when we were children. Everything that grandma did was fun and exciting for us – even small things like washing the dishes or loading the dishwasher. But she also has her hobbies Grandma showed us with a lot of dedication. Embroidering, knitting or crocheting – there were no limits to her instinct. And so we also started at a young age to improve our motor skills with embroidery pictures and to learn from her in a playful way, which will help us later in life should help with holes in socks or torn buttons.”
2. Grandpa, his jokes and stories
“When my grandpa was with us, we were the quietest little listeners imaginable. My sister and I always hung on his every word, spellbound, when he talked about his life. When he pranked teachers at school played or how he met grandma when she and a friend stole to a dance in the community center (actually still too young) and they have been inseparable ever since. When grandpa came to visit, there was always something going on. He had all kinds of old practical jokes on his mind , was young at heart and an excellent joke and storyteller.”
3. The kindness of my grandma
“I don’t think I ever saw my grandma get angry. There was a calmness about her that I still wish for to this day. I don’t remember her ever scolding us when we were being stupid made – or sent us to our room. In my mind she will always be my dear grandmother. Kind, friendly and above all: the perfect person to cuddle.”
4. Candy on almost every visit
“Grandma and grandpa knew exactly what we liked to snack on. The surprise egg that was slipped to us behind our parents’ backs or the small change for a colorful bag at the kiosk. Grandma and grandpa were happy to spoil us, and it was for us children It was also a great experience. Putting together your own candy combo with the money you just gave us? That quickly taught us what we like to eat – and what we don’t. Let’s be honest: How do you learn to make your own decisions rather than with a colorful one Bag full of blue smurfs and sour snakes?”
5. Living modesty
“Hardly anything was thrown away, but always looked at how it could still be used: wrapping paper and ribbon were smoothed out and recycled. Leftovers were cooked as fat for lard or bones for the broth. The homemade strawberry ice cream was frozen in yoghurt cups and tin cans were beautiful wrapped and used for our Christmas cookies… That’s what I loved most: the modesty and sustainability of my grandparents and the associated lack of envy and indulgence when others had something.”
6. The best listeners
“I really liked the rituals we did together: My grandmother and I always had lunch together after school and then went for a walk through the countryside, always for at least an hour – more if possible – and I always told her about my day I did the same thing with my grandfather, but I remember telling him stories – fairy tales and the like, some of which I made up myself or modified the existing ones a bit. Both of them always had such an incredible glow Rest on me and just let me talk to myself. I really appreciated that and I know afterwards that they just saw me in that moment, which was very nice.”
7. The Soundtrack of Childhood
“My brother and I spent a week or two every summer vacation at my grandparents’ rectory in the country. One highlight was being tickled in bed by Grandpa in the morning. He sang this rhyme and the last line tickled me:
“Here’s a coin
Go to the market
Buy yourself a cow
A calf to go with it
The calf has a tail
Makes kille kille goslings”
When I think about it, I miss him a lot!”
8. Delicious food through and through
“I loved sitting at the kitchen table when my grandma was cooking. Because I was always allowed to taste the sauce!”
9. Rituals with Grandma
“I loved the Saturday night ritual at my grandmother’s. First we had a bath, then we were bundled up and placed on the sofa, where we had wholemeal bread slices with diced ham and something delicious from the garden. Together with peppermint or lemon balm tea – also from the garden. Then there was either a radio play, or later selected items from the Süddeutsche were read aloud (yes, even when I was in elementary school). Yes, my grandmother always read the Süddeutsche in the morning and ticked off what she found recommendable, or cut out . And then she read aloud from the week’s yield. I later did that with my children too.”
10. Collector Love
“I liked it very much when my grandfather sorted his stamps. He worked at the post office and therefore always had beautiful, colorful special stamps that were just pretty to look at. In this context, stamps that were sent on envelopes were torn out around them and then immersed in water containers so that later the stamps could be carefully removed from the paper with tweezers in order to leave them to dry. We, as already advanced helpers, were then allowed to support us.”
11. Grandpa’s humor
“There was always something to laugh about with my grandparents, especially my grandpa entertained every family celebration with his dry North German humor. When I was little, I really wanted to become a whale researcher, I read and collected everything about whales. When I told my grandpa about my When he said he wanted a career, he just said: “Then you only have something to do every four years” and grinned mischievously. Today I still have to laugh when I think about it – regardless of whether it’s whales or the federal election.”