Recently, I spent a full week with my grandparents. Now, I know what you must be thinking, how’d could you possibly put up with old people all alone for a whole week? I was nervous at first, but honestly it was not bad at all. As old fashioned as they are, that week taught me a couple lessons that I will hold dearly and practice frequently.

I first learned to walk slower. Much slower. I never realized how fast I walk until my grandma mentioned that we take a walk down the beach. I started walking and realized she was practically a mile behind me. Even on campus I noticed I walk fast. So, recently, I’ve started walking slower, and noticing more of my surroundings. Walking slower with my grandma taught me not to be in such a rush all the time either.

I also learned not to take life for granted. My grandparents are getting extremely old and I didn’t see that until I noticed my pap couldn’t even walk well. It made me very sad to see my once full-of-life grandparents struggling to even make it down a flight of stairs. It took all I had not to burst out into tears when my grandpa admitted to me that he wasn’t enjoying life anymore. He explained to me that he felt merely like a zombie and that he just goes through each day waiting for his end. That conversation with him deeply upset me and it made me realize that I want to live life to the fullest, and that I don’t want to burden my future grandkids with that image of hating life at his age. I continue to tell him to be happy that he gets to see all his grandkids growing up and enjoying life.

I learned to play more board/card games. Normally, at the end of the day I usually settle down with either a book or a movie. But, every night my grandma would sit us down with either 500 Rummy, Rummikub, or Mexican Train (Dominoes). I never realized how much I enjoy games and how they keep you interacting with the people you are with. Reading and watching movies are nice sometimes, but I feel that we become so into what we are looking at that we don’t talk to the people we are with. I always find myself trying to convince my friends to play these games with me, but I know it won’t be the same as playing with my competitive grandparents.

I learned that even though cleaning and doing the dishes suck, it’s better if I do it than my frail grandma. More than once I would see her trying to reach the top cabinets and it hurt my heart, so I took it upon myself to do the dishes every evening. Seeing her relax for once made me feel so much better and helpful. I even cooked for my grandparents a couple times. Even though my grandma didn’t exactly say it, I could tell I finally gave her a break for once. She seemed so much at ease knowing she could relax for once.

So, if you learn anything from this article just know that it better to give others a break sometimes, cherish your life and everyone else’s around you, play more games, and lastly walk much slower. Looking at life from an older generation’s perspective can change your outlook on everything. This perspective can teach you many important lessons to carry on throughout your life. I will always look back on this week with appreciation that I enjoyed a week with these two.