PARSONS – Many folks from all over celebrated an important day Sunday – National Grandparents Day. And while many grandparents love their roles, they agree that being a grandparent is not the same today as in years gone by.
Canaan Valley resident Sarah Fletcher said she feels the role of grandparents has changed significantly since she was a child.
“Growing up, I was fortunate to have my paternal grandparents living right next door,” Fletcher said. “My maternal grandparents lived in Preston County and we visited with them quite often.”
Fletcher, mother of Ben Fletcher, has two granddaughters – Maggie, age 16 and Caroline, age 17. They live in Charlotte, N.C., and she said she doesn’t get to see them too often.
“I used to have the flexibility of traveling to see them in the 90s and early 2000s, but now I don’t have that chance as often as I would like,” Fletcher said. “Today, there is lots of long distance grand-parenting – we try to get there for the special events, and use technology to fill in the gaps.”
Fletcher said she really enjoyed traveling to see her granddaughters when they received their confirmation into their church.
When her son was small, Fletcher said his grandmother was nearby.
“She was my primary back-up babysitter and a wonderful influence in his life,” Fletcher said. “We called her Nanny Puff and we used to travel together and have great times.”
Fletcher said she misses the times when grandparents were just a few steps away.
“It’s just so different now,” she said. “The girls’ other grandparents live in Cincinnati, which is a long distance to travel to be together, too.”
Marvin “Bud” Parsons, of Blackman Flats, said he enjoys being a grandfather and great-grandfather. Although he doesn’t get to see his grandchildren and great-grandchildren too often in person, he said they keep in touch by Skype each Saturday.
“We get to see my grandson and great-granddaughter from Wyoming when we Skype,” Parsons said. “My granddaughter and great-grandson live in Martinsburg and we see them every three months.”
Parsons said his grandparents were close by when he was growing up.
“I now own the farm that my grandparents used to live on,” Parsons said. “In later years, we moved in and helped take care of them as they grew older. As you know, back in those days, you didn’t send them to live in a nursing home, you took care of them.”
He said his grandparents had a big influence on him.
“In the summertime, I stayed with my maternal grandfather and step grandmother in Holly Meadows,” Parsons said. “They had a farm, and about school time, they would ship me back to St. George to my other grandparents. That was back when we put the hay in with the horses.”
Parsons said grandparents don’t get to have a large enough influence on kids these days.
“We had morals,” Parsons said. “Kids do not seem to have as much interest in families these days like we had when I was a kid. I think grandparents influenced their ideas. We try to keep a good relationship with our grandkids and great-grandchildren but it’s hard when they live far away.”
He said technology helps some to fill in the distance gaps.
“When we Skype, we get to watch the baby roll over and stuff – we see things we would not have been able to do without technology,” Parsons said.
President Jimmy Carter signed the proclamation in 1978 recognizing National Grandparents Day. Much like Mother’s Day, the idea for a day to celebrate grandparents came from a West Virginian. The founder of National Grandparents Day is Marian McQuade, of Oak Hill.