If you have grandparents in your life, you should feel blessed

Sometime in the perhaps-not-too-distant future, I'm going to become a grandfather.

That used to mean that you were irretrievably old. It was partially a result of shorter lifespans, and partially a result of a life spent at hard labor that would age you faster than maybe nature intended.

But nowadays, the most youthful people become grandparents. I know people younger than me who have been grandpas and grandmas for years. Sometimes it's due to a teen pregnancy, while other times it's maybe because you had a child when you were relatively young and now your own child is doing the same.

I only ever had one grandparent in my life, and that was my mom's mom, Grandma Cumberledge. I only saw her a few times a year because she lived four hours from us, but she was always, always extra nice to me. We would go back and visit her, and before we left for home she would slip me a couple of bucks and say, "Now don't you tell your mother I'm giving you this." (But my mom would always know anyway because, you know, moms somehow know absolutely everything you do.)

Both of my father's parents passed away before I was born, and my Grandpa Cumberledge died when I was a year or two old, so I never knew him.

My Grandma Cumberledge, who died in 1984, would have been 116 years old tomorrow, had she somehow managed to stay alive after bearing 10 children and working hard every day for decades. I think of her every January 30th.

Anyway, if you have grandparents still around, or if you at least have positive memories of a grandparent, then consider yourself blessed. They're a lot more valuable than we tend to give them credit for.