Have you ever held a vintage, nostalgic photograph of your great-grandmother in your hands? It can fill your heart like few things can. Those photos are a connection to history – but not just “general history.” YOUR history. You can sometimes see your current family reflected in old photos. “Look at how much your daughter looks like her grandma!” Or you hear stories that convince you that you and your great-great-grandma would’ve had a blast if you’d known her when she was younger! Today we’re on Day 12 of the 28 Day Challenge to Fill Your Home with Love. And the challenge is to celebrate family, remember the abuelos (grandparents) who have gone on, and connect with the ones we still have with us!
Have you joined our 28 Day Challenge to Fill Your Home with Love? If you haven’t yet, you can easily do it here:
Today is Day 12 of the Challenge: Remember the “Abuelos!”
It’s nice to look at old photos of our “Abuelos” (grandparents). But the experience grows more meaningful when you have kids and find them looking at photos of their abuelos, especially of pics from when they were younger. “That’s YOU, Abuelo???”
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I have always loved going through old photo albums and keepsake boxes. I’m sure I learned that from my mom. And I’m sure she learned it from hers! Often it’s our older relatives who have albums and boxes full of photos that tell ALL the family stories you never knew you always wanted to hear.
One way to fill our homes with love is to spend time with “abuelos,” grandparents, in-laws, family and friends, sharing those stories that bring us together. Whether you meet in your home or you visit theirs, this connection enhances our lives in more ways than we imagine.
There are pros and cons (as with everything in life) to these connections. Your extended family may live nearby or they could be in another country. You may have a healthy relationship with your family or a toxic one. We’re taking that into consideration with today’s challenge and keeping it simple. You can “Remember the abuelos” and fill your home with love by focusing on ways to express love to them.
Express Love to the “Abuelos!”
If you have “abuelos” or extended family nearby, feel free to express your love by getting together! Plan a dinner and invite them over, meet at a restaurant or visit them where they live. By all means, feel free to break out the photo albums and have some fun! See who’s the first person to find Abuela in her high school class photo!
If that’s not possible for different reasons (whether it’s physical or emotional distance), you can still express love in different ways:
- Write a letter. Offer forgiveness if needed. Extend grace. Show love.
- Share photos or videos of the kids saying hi (or doing what they love: sports, singing, etc!) Abuelos love those connections with their kids, whether near or far. And social media makes that easier than ever!
- Pray for them. And let them know you prayed. They may or may not appreciate it, but it’s another way to show love, let them know you care, are thinking of them, and want the best for them.
I hope these challenges are truly helping fill your home with love!
And if you have other ideas on how YOU share love and connect with your “abuelos” and other family & friends, please post in the comments below!
Laughing (and connecting) thru life,
Coppelia
4 thoughts on “Remember the Abuelos! | 28 Day Challenge to Fill Your Home with Love!”
My abuela has been such a force of influence in my life. I learned so much from her and even got my love for collecting photographs from her. She is gone now, but we often look thru all the albums she kept and her boxes filled with photos of everyone. In the back she always wrote little inscriptions with the date as a way to retell the story. I now make it a point for my children to spend time with their grandparents. We are blessed to have them in the same city and I’m glad that my kids get to make memories with them, just like I did.
Oh, Anel, that is such a blessing. I love that my mom has done the same for us. And I remember going through photos and noticing the little notes on the back, too. It was heartbreaking to see my mom lose so many photos during Harvey flooding. I know she tried to save and dry as many as she could! (Although I was kind of happy to lose a few ugly high school photos … lol!) KIDDING! But thank God for those precious memories we have with our grandparents … and for the new ones we’re still able to make! Love you!
Some of my most cherished memories are ones spent with my grandma when I was young. They are made richer by the memories of time spent with her with my children! Now I’m a MiMi myself and I strive to let my grands know they are precious and treasured so that one day they will look back and have cherished memories of our times together! Love your thoughts and suggestions here! Great job!
Thank you, Cindy! I’m sure you’re an awesome MiMi and your family is blessed to have you! I hope we can keep planting more seeds of love so our families can continue to grow healthy, nurtured, thriving and knowing beyond the shadow of a doubt that they are loved! And may God give us wisdom to remove all the weeds! Ha!
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