June 21, 2014 - Written by: Becky Solomon

5 Things You Can Learn From An Afternoon With Your Grandparents

If I could give one bit of advice to anyone, it would be: go and talk to old people. Why? Because they will be able to offer you more.

Grandparents are just brilliant. I could listen to my nan and grandad all day because they truly have the best conversations. I genuinely think more interesting and meaningful stuff comes out of them than politicians.

They know what matters in life and they will share it with you, taking in all your problems with a calm omniscience, reassuring you that everything will be alright in the end. Spending a Sunday afternoon with them got me thinking about the lessons I could learn:

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1) Family is the most important thing.

This has been ingrained in me from a very young age. My grandparents have been there to help with every family problem and they’ve not stepped back at all now that they’re in their 80s. They’ve always told me: at the end of the day, your family will always be there for you. And I’m lucky enough to know that’s true of mine.

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2) Life is about love.

If I ever need to have a look at true love, I look at my nana and grandad. They bicker and disagree but, my god, do they care for each other! The way they look at one other, the way they talked about how they first met and the way that they care for each other, it’s inspirational. To share your life win someone the way they have, nobody could know you better.

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3) Your life is nobody else’s business; and you shouldn’t give a crap what anyone else thinks!

My grandad told me about a nosy neighbour once trying to snitch on my uncle. My grandad told him to bugger off and that it was none of his business what he was doing. Life should be lived without worrying what the nosy neighbours – or anyone else for that matter – think.

4) Things don’t change too much.

I was so impressed when I found out they hitchhiked to Paris that I asked if it was easier back then. My grandad replied: ‘There were still the same types of people back then as there are now’. That shattered my very naive perceptions of what life was like ‘back then’. I think the media would try and have us believe things were better, but I trust my grandparents. There are and unfortunately always will be, bad people and bad things out there.

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5) Travel

I am always surprised with the amount of travelling my grandparents have done, and most of it has been since their retirement. Why the hell not? You’re far more likely to remember the day you spent visiting and exploring new cities than the Tuesday afternoon you spent at work last year.

If I ever need a quick history lesson, I can talk to my nan. If I ever need some straight talking, life lessons or ways to scrimp, I can chat to my grandad.

They truly have the best stories, advice and biscuits to share, I sometimes wonder if the next generation of senior citizens will be different.
So my words of advice for anyone needing a life lesson, talk to your grandparents or a senior citizen, who will certainly give you some perspective in your life.

If you enjoyed this article, why not check out ‘Hi, we just met. I love you.’?