Every year on the Sunday after Labor Day, we celebrate National Grandparents Day. Marian McQuade, mother of 15, grandmother of 40 (!) and great-grandmother to eight, dreamed up the holiday herself. But not so she and her husband Joe could collect 48 cards and gifts - she started the campaign to ease the loneliness of elderly people who are confined to nursing homes. She also thought it was important to expose children to the "wisdom and heritage their grandparents could provide."

Grandparent's Day is a bona-fide holiday at our house. Not only do the kids get to spend the entire day with their "Nanas" and "Papas", but we usually have a big party. We send the kids and our parents off to do something for the day and then we put up some decorations, wrap up a few gifts, and cook a big a family meal. Then we hide until they get back so we can jump out and yell, "Surprise!"

No one is really surprised but it's still fun.

Mrs. McQuade achieved at least one of her goals: the kids listen to their grandparents talk about the days before the technological wonders they take for granted became a routine part of modern life. They ask questions like, "What did play with before video games?" "What's a telephone book?" And finally, the one they ask every year, "How did you live without the Internet!?"

With three generations of our family seated at the table, I admit I get a little misty sometimes. Though we've never met, I'll always be grateful to Mrs. McQuade. If not for her, all of us might have missed out on one of our favorite family holidays.

Your "Celebrate the Grandparents" Gift Guru,
Linda