Speaking Of Grandparents

[cabinetman]

I never knew my grandparents except for one grandmother. The others had died before I was born. I didn't have any special name for her...I just called her "Gram".

What special names if any do/did you call any of your grandparents, and has that name changed since you were a child?
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[Ed62]

I never knew my grandparents except for one grandmother. The others had died before I was born.

That was my situation, exactly. She was just "Grandma" to me.

Ed

[Tom Slick]

I don't know proper spelling but my Dad's parents were "Grospa" and "Grosma" which I'm told is low German/Mennonite for grandpa and grandpa. I have a great aunt that was "Taunta Nuet" and I have no idea what that means but I'm sure it's low German also.

Mom's Parents were grandma and grandpa.

[smorris]

Mine who I had the good fortune to know all into my 40's were grandma, grandpa and skinny grandma. don't know where that last name came from, it was just always what I knew her as.

[Alex Franke]

Oma and Opa (informal German) on my father's side, and Grandma and Grandpa on my mother's.

It's the same with my kids, except that he calls his grandfather "Papa" -- probably because that's how it sounded when the older one first said "grandpa." Their great-grandmother is "Nana" probably because we call her "grandma" and it came out as "Nana" when he first said it.

Now we call our parents what our kids call them.

Tom, probably with a double-s or s-set, like Grosspa, or Großpa.

[LCHIEN]

chinese have different words for maternal grandma/pa and paternal.
so there's no confusion.

[pelligrini]

I never got to meet my fathers parents, but the other two were grandma & grandpa to me and all my cousins. We buried our grandma today, she was 89.

When I was asked what I wanted to be called by my grandaughter I prefered grandpa. It's wierd hearing it from her though.

[billwmeyer]

Erik,
I am sorry for your loss.

My kids called my mom Grammy and my wife's mom Granny.

I called my grandparents grampa and gramma. I never got to know my Dad's dad much as he died when I was about 3.

For some reason I have been thinking about my mom's dad a lot lately. My grampa Mason died in the mid 70's. Today I was going through an old box of papers and found a Chrismas card from him with a letter inside. I had completly forgotten about the letter. It wasn't much, but it was nice to see his handwritting and read it again.

Bill

[cabinetman]

Today I was going through an old box of papers and found a Chrismas card from him with a letter inside. I had completly forgotten about the letter. It wasn't much, but it was nice to see his handwritting and read it again.

Bill

Funny you should mention that about letters. When I was finishing AIT, I was supposed to have leave. Planned to go home for a visit. My orders were to report to Ft. Bragg for Special Forces training, and no time for leave. Not much time for anything back then with what was happening in Viet Nam.

Anyway, at that time my father was ill, and he didn't know it would be terminal. I had saved all his letters that I received during Basic and AIT. With the rush the Army was in at the time I didn't know if I would have leave time after training to make it home before being deployed. Those letters were the only connection I had to who was left in my family.

He didn't write much for the remainder of my enlistment, and remained very ill for a few years after I got out. I still have those letters, and keep them in a special place. He was a driving force in my development in a very positive way. I still read them occasionally, and for a few moments it's almost like he's still here.
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[Kristofor]

All of my grandparents were Grandma and Grandpa X (where X was their initial/last name).

This doesn't work so well for my son as I happened to married someone who had the same last name (this isn't a hillbilly cousins deal, there are simply a whole slew of Johnson's in Minnesota ). Since he has 4 grandma Johnson's (2x regular, 2x great's) he uses naughty grandma, old granny (for the 2nd youngest...), and grandma Bernice for the ones he see's regularly...

[pelligrini]

I noticed that a lot of the great grandkids were calling my grandma gg, several of the families did that.

[billwmeyer]

Letters

Cabnetman,
Letters are a piece of history that will be no more. I can't remember the last time I received a letter or for that matter written a letter. Saving an e-mail or a print out of the e-mail will never be the same as a letter. It seems like with progress, we always lose something.

Treasure your letters. It does seem like there is a part of the author in everyone of them.

Bill

[cabinetman]

Cabnetman,
Letters are a piece of history that will be no more. I can't remember the last time I received a letter or for that matter written a letter. Saving an e-mail or a print out of the e-mail will never be the same as a letter. It seems like with progress, we always lose something.

Treasure your letters. It does seem like there is a part of the author in everyone of them.

Bill

You're absolutely right. I think the difference is there is a personality in what's hand written.
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