My grandfathers both died shortly after I was born. My dad's mom was a big part of my life when I was young, but she passed when I was in elementary school. I got close to my mom's mom when I spent a summer in Japan, and she's still alive in Tokyo.
Were your grandparents a big part of your life growing up? If you lost your grandparents, how old were you when they passed?
pear / 1812 posts
No, they weren't. My mom lost both of her parents before I came along. My dad lost his mom and his dad remarried, but they lived one province over (a 12 hour drive) so we only saw them once a year.
Eta: this is why I don't want to leave our current city, even though I'm not a fan of it. I was so excited for my daughter to really know all of her grandparents. Then my dad passed while I was pregnant, so now it's even more important for me to stay put.
honeydew / 7667 posts
One set was. On the other side my grandpa had already passed and my grandma died when I was really young 
papaya / 10343 posts
Yep! My dad's parents lived 3 houses up the street from us and we spent a ton of time at their house. My mom's mom lived like 10 min away so we saw her a little less but probably at least once a month still.
persimmon / 1150 posts
Yep, both sets of grandparents lived within 10 minutes, for a few years they lived right behind us (in a duplex). Still have two grandmothers and one grandfather. The other grandfather passed away when I was a sophomore. Now my parents live 4 doors down so I'm excited for my kids to have the same experience.
apricot / 341 posts
No. Both of my grandparents live in Japan. At around age 12, my parents sent me to Japan for the summers to live with my dad's parents. I learned Japanese and their culture and etiquette. It was a great experience.
Later on in college, I would often visit my mom's side of the family when I visited Japan.
I'm hoping my DS will have a closer relationship with his grandparents since they both relatively close by.
blogger / coconut / 8306 posts
Yes. I grew up very close to my moms and dads parents. They were a huge part of my life.
When I was born, I had a grandma, great-grandma and two great-great grandmas & a great-grandfather on my moms side. My great-greats passed when I was 3 or 4. My great-grandfather passed when I was 3ish, and my great-grandma passed when I was 17.
My nono passed a few years ago. I'm glad he was able to come to my wedding. I hate that he doesn't know Chloe. He was so important to me.
My pap passed right before we got engaged
My nana & grandma are still alive, so Chloe has two great grandmas!
grapefruit / 4089 posts
We are all very close to my mom's parents. I would often go and spend a week or two at their house during the summer growing up, and now I love to sit and drink wine and chat with them.
My dad's parents, not so much. They didn't live far from us, but we really only saw them around Christmas, and maybe once or twice at other points during the year. Dad has very little in common with his siblings, so my cousins tend to spend more time with my grandparents on that side than we do.
pear / 1823 posts
Both of my grandfathers died before I was born, but I was close to both of my grandmothers. One of them moved in with us when I was 8 and the other lived about 10 minutes away. We saw her quite frequently.
cantaloupe / 6791 posts
Yes, very much so, especially my mom's parents. They only lived 20 mins away, so we would see them every weekend and my sister and I practically lived with them during the summers. My grandfather passed away last year when I was 23 and I feel so lucky to have had all that time with him. My grandmother is living with my mom now and they watch my 2 month old while I'm at work. It warms my heart to see her and my son together!
bananas / 9628 posts
yes. more my mom's parents, they watched us during summers & vacations and my brother & i had a bedroom at their house. i was heartbroken when my grandfather died. my grandmother is still alive, but hasn't spoken to me in three years as of christmas. ouch. my dad's father died before i was born and his mom was very interesting and independent, not very involved in our lives though, she died a year ago.
pear / 1861 posts
Yes, we spent the night at my Big Mama's house all the time. I still have vivid memories of it. 
I lost one grandfather at 18 and lost my Big Mama at 31. The others are still living. My LO only has one living grandparent sadly, my mom.
wonderful kiwi / 23653 posts
Only maternal side and mostly my grandmother. She is the last one alive for a while. Miss her so much because she lives halfway across the world and has no internet so we can only FaceTime when my aunt is at her place.
clementine / 899 posts
Yup, and still very close with them. My maternal grandfather died 6 years ago, though. I hope my kids can have the kind of relationship I do with my grandparents.
grapefruit / 4291 posts
Both sets of my grandparents lived in the same town as us so I spent HEAPS of time with them growing up. I lost one Grandfather when I was five and the other when I was 19 and I was absolutely devastated when both my Grandmothers died within a month of each other in 2007. I'm also lucky to still have a handful of great aunts and uncles in my life.
I feel incredibly fortunate that LO has all her grandparents still living and that we have good relationships with both.
nectarine / 2220 posts
Just my grandma has been a big part of my life all along. My mom's mom babysat me a lot growing up and we're still very close. I lived with her for a couple years when I went to college. I see her a few times a month and we hang out with my LO since I'm maternity leave for a year. My mom's biological dad went out for a beer and never came home when she was 1 and we assume he's dead, but who knows. My grandma remarried and I remember her second husband well. He used to always "forget to eat" the candy from his lunch box and I would go snooping through it to check, and he'd go prawn fishing and let me play with a few as pets before they got eaten so I thought he was awesome. He passed away when I was six though.
My dad's father passed away before I was born, and his mom passed away when I was six as well. I don't really remember her as much, but all six of her kids and all my cousins would go over every Saturday for dinner so I probably was too busy playing with my cousins to really get to know her.
papaya / 10473 posts
Yes. My maternal grandparents lived next door to us, and it was awesome! They retired so that they could keep me and my sister as often as my parents needed, and they were (and still are) a huge part of my life.
coconut / 8483 posts
Yep! My moms parents lived about away and we saw them a ton. My dads mom lived about 15 minutes away but was at our house every Monday-Friday from the time I was about 6 to 12 as our baby sitter (even though we were in school, she got us there, home, made lunch, etc). Shes my fave person ever.
cantaloupe / 6630 posts
They were a huge part of our lives, especially my mum's parents. They lived just three miles away from us and we'd often be there for dinner or stay there if my mum was in hospital having a baby.
My paternal grandfather died when I was seven, my paternal grandmother about five years ago, and my maternal grandmother just last year. My maternal grandfather is still alive 
coconut / 8430 posts
My mom's mom helped raise us because she lived with us. I was lucky enough to meet the other 3 grandparents but they all lived very far away so I spent very limited time with them. They are all gone now but I'm so glad that my mom's mom got to meet my LO.
wonderful pea / 17279 posts
Not really, but I have wonderful memories of my grandma (my mom's mom). My dad's mom died when he was teen. And my two grandfather'grandfather's lived til old age, but I wasn't close to them.
I spent a couple weeks with her every summer. I remember only a handful of events. When she became sick my mom had her move in with us. We still had a nanny, so my grandma wasn't necessarily the primary caregiver. I learned about lost through her because she died when I was almost 8 and I learned about sincere kindness, she was absolutely awesome.
cantaloupe / 6885 posts
My maternal grandmother was a huge part of my life. I slept over at her house at least once a week, she picked me up from school each afternoon, and made me feel like the most special and loved girl in the world. I have 3 little sisters so my sanctuary was her place, though she spoiled us all equally. I have the best memories ... Hot water bottle in my bed, sugar toast for breakfast, and waking up to the waves crashing at her cottage.
My mom has said that she wants to be that kind of grandma to my LO... my daughter is a very lucky girl!
pear / 1672 posts
No. Sadly they all died before I was born or when I was a young baby. They all died very young, too. As someone who didn't have the grandparent experience, I hope people value theirs.
cantaloupe / 6171 posts
Yes and no. They lived in Texas and we were in michigan so we didn't see them day to day, but we spoke on the phone a lot and had frequent visits so we definitely knew them and felt them as a part of our lives. All 4 of my grandparents passed in the 3 years between freshman and junior years of college
clementine / 911 posts
My mom's parents were like second parents to me. Both of my parents worked, so my brother and I stayed at their house while my parents were at work. We also spent most Friday nights at their house. They would even take us on vacation once or twice a year. We were really close. My dad's parents were the kind of grandparents we saw a few times a year.
My mom's dad passed away when I was in college, and then we went on to lose the other 3 grandparents in a span of 4 years. That was a really tough time for my family.
olive / 52 posts
My paternal grandparents lived next door for my early childhood and were always involved in our lives. They watched me and my brother during the summers. They are both still kicking and wonderfully meddling : )
My mother's parents divorced and remarried when she was young. My maternal grandmother/mom's stepdad watched me when I was little until they moved back to their old state (WV). My maternal grandmother died when I was in middle school and my mom's stepdad came to live with us until he had a major stroke and had to live in a nursing home. He died when I was in high school. My maternal grandfather/mom's stepmom always lived in WV (I have always lived in IN), so I only see them every few years.
grapefruit / 4311 posts
Both sets lived on the same road as me growing up, all within a mile. I saw them all very often, but was especially close with my mom's parents who kept me a lot, and I saw nearly daily.
pomegranate / 3768 posts
Yes, my grandma lived with us all my life. She past almost two years ago and I found out I was pregnant the day after her funeral.
blogger / honeydew / 7081 posts
One set lived 15 minutes away, and the others were well over 5 hours away, so I didn't see them that often. But we were pretty close, all things considered.
clementine / 849 posts
Always. Both sets of my grandparents lived within 20 minutes, and they actually baby sat me and my sibs as we were growing up - we never went to daycare or a sitter even though my parents worked full time.
My one grandma died when I was 8, and my last grandparent just died this past year when I was 25. I miss having them around so much!
pineapple / 12566 posts
Not close to either sets.
On my dad's side, I only had a grandfather and he lived in Bangkok and we didn't speak the same languages. He died at the age if 96 when I was 27.
On my mom's side we were never close either. My grandmother died when I was in high school but my grandfather is still alive.
kiwi / 500 posts
I was lucky to grow up with both sets of grandparents. But I was much more emotionally connected to my maternal grandparents. My mom always had an underlying tension with my dad's mom so she never relied on them to care for us. But her patents eventually moved into our house and stayed with us for much of my teenage years until grandpa passed away and my grandma moved in with my uncle. I was very close to them. Sadly even when my dad's dad died. I was never really sad because I hadn't known him very well, but I was more sad for my dad who adored his father.
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