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FOUR SEASONS SPOTLIGHT National Grandparents Day By Bobbie Eckel National Grandparents Day is a secular holiday celebrated in the United States on the first Sunday after Labor Day. The purpose of the special holiday is threefold: to honor grandparents, to give grandparents an opportunity to show love for their children's children and to help children become aware of the strength, information and guidance which older people can offer. The idea was initiated by a housewife, Marian Lucille McQuade, in Fayette County, West Virginia, in 1970. Marian McQuade and her husband Joe had 15 children, 40 grandchildren and at least eight great-grandchildren. They were both very interested in "intergenerational interaction." They obviously experienced first-hand the strength, assistance and support which could be provided by older members of the family. Mrs. McQuade's concerns for senior citizens started in 1956 when she began working with the Past Eighty Party. She advocated for the elderly in several states. In 1971, she was elected Vice-Chairman of the West Virginia Committee on Aging and was appointed to the White House Conference on Aging by then Governor Arch Moore. Marian McQuade's initiative was successful; the first Grandparents Day was proclaimed by Governor Moore in 1973 in West Virginia. A similar resolution in the U.S. Senate died in the committee. Undeterred by this failure, Mrs. McQuade's team turned up the heat and, in 1978, the U.S. Congress passed legislation proclaiming the first Sunday after Labor Day as National Grandparents Day. President Jimmy Carter signed the proclamation. September was chosen for the holiday to signify the "autumn years" of life. The chosen flower for the day is "Forget Me Not." 6 Usually grandmothers are fat but not too fat to tie your shoes. They wear glasses and funny underwear. Grandparents don't have to be smart. They have to answer questions like "Why isn't God married?" and "How come dogs chase cats?" When they read to us, they don't skip. They don't mind if we ask for the same story over and over again. Everyone should try to have a grandmother, especially if you don't have television because they are the only grown-ups who like to spend time with us. The following comments in answer to "Who are Grandparents?" were given by a class of eight-year olds and circulated on the Internet: They can take their teeth and gums out. They know we should have snack time before bed time and they say Grandparents are a lady and a man prayers with us and kiss us even when who have no little children of their we've acted bad. own. They like other people's. A six-year old was asked where his grandmother lived. "Oh," he said. "She lives at the airport, and when we want Grandparents don't have to do her, we just go get her. Then when anything except be there when we we're done having her visit, we just come to see them. They are so old they take her back to the airport." Grandpa is the smartest man on shouldn't play hard or run. It is good if they drive us to the shops and give us earth. He teaches me good things, but I don't get to see him enough to get as money. When they take us for walks, they smart as him. A grandfather is a man and a grandmother is a lady! It's funny when they bend over; you slow down past things like pretty leaves hear gas leaks and they blame their and caterpillars. They show us and talk to us about dog. the colors of the flowers and also why we shouldn't step on 'cracks.' They don't say, "Hurry up." FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | SEPTEMBER 2013 | community News Happy Grandparents Day!