G and H are for ...

G is for Grandparents

I'm behind -- doing anything computer related on the weekends is always an effort for me.  Not just because of our lousy internet service.

Anyway, I was very privileged to have both sets of my grandparents alive until I was an adult.  

Dessie & Howard (my mother's parents)

Granny & Grandpa (Muriel & Melvin) (obviously my father's parents)

I'm not sure who we actually spent the most time with -- my father's parents were always with us in Michigan and then came to visit at least once a year.  Then when they were in their 80s (I think) the moved to Washington DC to be closer to both of their sons.

My mother's parents were older (by 5+ years) and lived in Ohio.  They would usually come to visit once a year, usually for a longer period of time - and then we definitely saw them in the summer as well.

anyway ...

H is for Howard.

We always called my mother's parents by their first names.  It was weird but that's how it was.  My grandfather was quite deaf and the only way he could hear you was if you called him by his first name.  So my mother and her siblings started doing that .. and I guess it stuck.  And I guess if you're calling your father by his first name, it would be weird to not to call your mother by hers.  Though I think I remember hearing my mother call Dessie, mother or mom on occasion.