Grandparents are wonderful.
We had just returned from a special mass honoring the grandparents of my brother-in-law's third grade class when it struck me how great it felt to be surrounded by so much unconditional love.
Yes, parents love unconditionally but in a way that is punctuated by lessons and discipline. With grandparents, it is all about butterscotch candy and homemade chicken soup.
Is it old age that mellows them out and renders them completely lovable? Certainly they were parents once and had most of the same neuroses and personality flaws that their children now display.
But once they become grandparents, they (for the most part) shed many of the habits that make their children -- now parents -- thoroughly irritating. Maybe they're too tired to be bothered by daily minutia. Perhaps they realize that it doesn't matter if they have a new SUV or if their kid is sitting out too many innings on the bench.
If only we could learn more of what they know.
Now, take some time and think about your grandparents.
