When I accepted a job with Grandly, I hadn’t had much personal experience of my grandparents impacting me in meaningful ways. My dad is from Brazil. His father passed away a few years ago and his mother, my “Tata”, only speaks Portuguese. When video chatting with my grandmother, our communication is limited to a few words like “bom”, which means “good.” Due to the distance and the language barrier, we have never had deep conversations.
My mother is from the U.S. but my relationship with her parents has been similar. Her father passed away when she was young and I was raised hearing a few stories about my grandfather. Her mother has been the most active grandparent in my life although I only saw her about once a year at family gatherings or vacations. My grandma has supported my parents financially, given to our college funds, and still sends all of my siblings a birthday card. I definitely experienced love from my Grandma Sullivan, but it was mostly from a distance.
I read The Strategic Grandparent book to gain a better vision of the mission of Grandly. Not expecting to find anything personal in the content, I was surprised to find that after reading testimonies from grandparents and grandchildren alike, I felt a sense of disappointment. A desire for my grandparents to play a larger role in my life emerged and I realized that both of my grandmothers are still alive and have a wealth of stories and knowledge about my family’s past to share. Relationships run two ways and I knew that now, as an adult, I could reach out and strike up a meaningful conversation with each of my grandmothers that would benefit us both.
My Grandma Sullivan recently sent me a letter to congratulate me on my graduation from college. I thanked her and asked if we could connect soon so she could share more about our family’s history. She reached out to my mom, excited that I was taking an interest in her and my family. I also asked my dad to schedule a talk with Tata. He agreed and asked me to make up a list of questions beforehand which he would translate for me.
Since reading the book, I’ve realized how important my grandparents’ role can be in my life even now. I am excited to engage both of my grandmothers in conversations and to learn about my family’s history. Although my grandmothers were not familiar with the idea of being intentionally strategic, I know there is still time for all of us to experience the blessings of their presence in my life by my own plans to be intentionally strategic in our relationships.
Bryan Adamovicz graduated with a degree in Marketing from Michigan State University and started working for Grandly in December 2020.
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