Easter Day is one of those special times when many grandparents get to spend precious hours with their grandchildren. Often dressed in fancy clothes and with chocolaty faces after a morning hunting for candy and eggs, these grandchildren make everyone feel younger as we share in their joy.
Easter and the Passover holiday also give cause for reflection, a time when families can share their specific traditions that span the generations and educate young family members about the family’s history and culture.
When visiting with older relatives, help children take advantage of the wisdom of their elders. We are a society whose relationship with our seniors has greatly changed in recent generations. Where generations used to dwell together in a home, longer life spans and other factors have increasingly moved our oldest family members out of the home and into specialized communities such as assisted living centers.
These assisted living communities provide a great service, and help many family members with medical and mental needs beyond what the core family can provide. But grandchildren and great-grandchildren of these seniors may not be benefiting from their elders’ important values and family storytelling. Take the time to allow seniors to engage the young ones in telling the story of the family, of springtime holidays decades past.
We are grateful that assisted living facilities have evolved over time as medicine and philosophy have changes the way we see our seniors through their later years. Passover and Easter, and spring in general are also a chance for us to look forward with hope. We hope your family shares some treasured moments, and we wish you a beautiful spring day!