Purple Haze
Honor Your (Grand)Father and (Grand)Mother
By Lauren Bagian

May 21, 2009

It’s amazing how sometimes we don’t respect our elders as much during our teenage years. Yes, there’s the independent surge that makes young people want to be on their own and do things to break away from their childhood, but cutting out your grandparents isn’t really the way to go about doing that. Sometimes we can show the most maturity by displaying the most respect.

Now you may ask, Lauren, why has this topic come up? Well, be still your reeling minds, I’m going to tell you a little story.

My grandparents were visiting the weekend of May 15 to 17, and my grandmother’s birthday was Monday, May 18. On Saturday, I walked into my kitchen and said “good morning” to my grandfather who seemed to be hovering waiting to ask me something. Once he looked around to be sure that my grandmother was not in ear-shot, he leaned close and said, “I have a slight problem, and I think that you can help me.” Well, I wasn’t sure what he could be talking about but I said, “Give it a shot.”

“Grandmom’s birthday is on Monday and I know I want to get her a box of candy, you know, like what a boy would first bring a girl when they were dating, but I don’t know where to get anything like that.” Well I thought that was probably one of the most adorable things he had ever said, since he and my grandmother had been married for about 60 years. Of course my mind started weighing the possibilities.

“Let’s see what I can do; we can go this afternoon.”

We perused our first option with no success. We then went to the next only to discover that their candy case had now become a jewelry case. Finally we headed to my last idea, finding their extensive candy counter, and my grandfather went to town, buying a giant box of raspberry and orange jellies, chocolate pretzels and coconut clusters. I silently watched the entire display with mild amusement, knowing my grandmother’s eyes would grow to the size of dinner plates once she surveyed all of the candy she was supposed to be able to consume.

What did I learn from this simple everyday experience? I learned that life is a game of role reversals. When I was very young, my grandparents used to be the ones to take me to the mall to spend my first allowance money. Now, I was the one taking my grandfather all over the mid-state just to find a box of chocolates for my grandmother. Growing up brings new responsibilities, but these responsibilities aren’t limited to driving to school or getting a part-time job. Maturity means increased understanding and respect towards our elders. Despite the fact that we can now take care of ourselves, we must not forget who was there for us when we could not.