I have many fond recollections of time spent with my grandparents, the smell of bacon frying on a Sunday morning as my Poppa made breakfast, walking with him to the shop at the end of the street on a Friday afternoon to spend about 2 dollars on a huge, newspaper wrapped parcel of fish and chips that fed the whole family (there were usually about eight of us, according to my memory!)
Helping my Nanna make the big pot of soup using her mother’s recipe and snapping beans picked from the backyard to remove the stringy bits for Sunday lunch, a most important job I was always assured!
There are some very special memories that I will treasure forever. My Poppa was a guard at the Museum in Adelaide until he retired, and I have magical 'Night at the Museum' type memories of meeting him there after school and exploring the various exhibits all on my own while he locked up before we’d go home for a sleepover at Nanna and Poppa’s. The Egyptian room was my favourite, of course, I was always hoping one of the mummies would come to life!
Equally precious are my memories of my Nanna reading stories to me in a quite unique setting. On hot summer nights (no air conditioning in Nan’s house!) everyone in the street would go out and sit on their front lawn in the cool of evening, on blankets and fold-out chairs. We drank cold lemonade from a thermos in anodised metal cups of bright blue, green and gold, and the kids would all run wild from yard to yard while the grown-ups gossiped until the stars came out. Finally, the kids would be called to come and lay down and rest. I remember those nights, laying flat on my back under a starry sky, listening to my Nan’s voice as she read, while my eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and then somehow magically waking up in my own bed in the morning.
Of course, not everyone has the opportunity to spend so much time with their older generation. Indeed, my own grandchild (and future grandchildren) live way too far away for me to have them for an impromptu sleepover or pop in and see them. So, when we do have time together, it’s a beautiful thing. I hope and wish that in the future, I’ll have lots more time with them to make precious memories of our own. I’m very fortunate that my family, while far away physically, are close and connected in our hearts. We talk often and I bet I’m not the only long -distance grandparent who has a new appreciation for technology, with FaceTime and other tech allowing us to stay connected with our grandchildren.
Staying connected can be challenging in today’s busy and fast- paced world. I know that many of us do online ‘story time’ with our grandkids, and this can be a wonderful way to connect, especially if you choose books that engage the readers in some kind of dialogue. (This was a big part of the inspiration for Me and You, where the characters take turns in speaking, and the refrain of 'Me too!' gives everyone a chance to join in.)
I’m still learning how to be a grandparent, but I feel like it’s the little things I do with my grand baby that we’ll remember. Story time (whether in person or long distance), making pancakes, exploring rock pools at the beach, dancing like nobody’s watching, sharing an ice cream, holding hands, blowing bubbles.
The little things are a bit like the grains of sand in an oyster, that grow to become precious memories over time.
Sometimes, they even find their way into a story!
Keep and eye out for our KBR review of Me and You, coming soon!
Ellie Royce is an internationally published author of books for kids: ‘The most important people in the world.’ Ellie believes in the power of books and stories to change lives for the better and reads and writes all the time (quite often when she should be doing other things!).
Ellie lives in Northern New South Wales.
Find Ellie Royce at her website and on Instagram and Facebook.