Summer Vacations Meant Trips to Granny's [Memories!]

Summer holidays or school vacations usually included trips to my grandparents on Dad's side of the family. It meant ample playtime and bathing in the early summer rain (during April and May). While my Dad was strict and would reprimand us, my granny would say, "Let them be, you did such things when you were a kid and you were okay..." She was a big woman yet spoke softly and usually paused between words.

Then she would spoil us, heating the water so we could bathe (they didn't have a shower set before so we used a pail or large basin and dipper). Well, at least they had a bathroom so we didn't bathe outside where neighbors could watch, lol!

After that, she would invite us to the table for anything she had prepared - my favorite was the sweet potatoes soaked in brown sugar syrup. We used to have them with roasted rice tea. They were a treat back then and still are today (I'm craving some while writing this, it's been so long since I last had something similar).

Sometimes, we would spend late afternoons roasting sweet potatoes by burying them under charcoals in their fire pit. Hmmm... I could smell the aroma of burning potato skin. It was fun!

On Sundays, they would take us along with her to mass. They were a devoted Protestant. My elder sisters (4 & 5 years my senior) with other cousins often sneak out to adventure in the nearby spots. I on the other hand could not go anywhere because being the youngest in the brood, I always sat beside (between) my grandparents and liked it. I even attended Vacation Bible School (VBS) in their church during my elementary years.

Grandpa was a quiet man (also soft-spoken) and rarely stayed at home on weekdays. He was always going out like he had an office job or something. I remember him as a neat person, always in his denim wear (jacket and jeans) with either white or black Converse shoes (it was his signature look).

They both have an unorthodox way of teaching us. When we want to do things they would say "Go ahead if you truly want to" and when something goes wrong, they'd ask us what we learned from it. I don't remember hearing from them any words like "No that's wrong... that's bad" or similar things.

"Would you like to pull out some of my white hair?" Grandma would query. They would not command us to do things. Instead, they ask first (more like a request). Of course, we rarely refused. They are sweet and caring my sisters and I loved visiting and sleeping in even when it wasn't summer. We would go to them on weekends. That's also because my eldest sister had a crush on someone in my granny's neighborhood, lol!

But yes, we had wonderful moments with them. Growing up, I always thought Dad was fortunate to have them as parents because they looked and acted cool and I never heard them raise their voice even when they were angry. I'd like to think they greatly influenced my eldest sister's parenting style.

While I would exchange anything to experience those times again, it is simply impossible. I can only do so by revisiting the memories we had back then. Both my grandpa and grandma passed away when I was in the uni (1997 and '99). Losing them was one of the saddest moments in my lifetime. They were the best grandparents in the truest sense and we were so fortunate to have created memories with them over those summer years.