IT'S SUMMER in our part of the world and this means many grandparents are enjoying the company of their grandchildren from near and far.
In many cases, our hardworking children, from home and abroad, have to keep their nose to the grindstone, as the old saying goes, and so they turn to retired grandparents to help with the children during the summer months.
Jamaican values
The upheaval can be significant. Some grandparents travel north to the grandchildren's homes, while some parents use this time to ensure that the youngsters living overseas get the opportunity to re-instill Jamaican values in their foreign-born and foreign-raised children.
This return to their roots is a healthy experience for these children and most of them, when they become adults, look back on these summertime rituals with fond memories. Many of them continue the ritual into adulthood--a healthy habit both for their own spirits and the economy.
It is very true that things in Jamaica are not as they used to be when we were growing up. Consideration for others, common courtesy and decency seem to have less and less value in our society.
But while we lament this, we must acknowledge that in this regard, things are even worse in the foreign societies in which so many of our grandchildren are being brought up so Jamaica does continue to be an oasis for these youngsters. Our designated role as grandparents then is to ensure that this new generation benefits from the good things that have managed to survive here.
One of the most positive things Jamaica offers is the fact that people of African descent do exist as leaders in a society. Quite often, having spent several months away from Jamaica, many of the youngsters are struck by the fact that black people are everywhere and in charge of everything. Many a grandparent has felt compelled to swiftly cover the mouths of the innocents when, on arrival in Jamaica, they look around and say, usually on the tops of their voices: "What a lot of black people, Grandma!"
They mean no harm. Coming from a society where the majority of the people they see everyday are white, it is a fair observation! But some people do take offence, so the understandable reaction of the grandparents is to 'shush' the children.
But it is this fact of our colour that is one of the most salutary things we have to offer to show these children that fully functioning societies of our people do exist. It does a great job of instilling pride, self-awareness and self-confidence in these children. Talk to any adult living abroad today who has enjoyed the annual summer ritual of visits to Jamaica and he or she will confirm this.
So, while they are running around the house breaking our precious vases and glassware; messing up our usually tidy houses and keeping up constant motion and un-nerving shouting for the duration of their stay and often far into the night if allowed to, may be nerve-wracking for grandparents, these summer visits have a positive, profound and lasting effect on this new generation.
Jamaican foods
Grandparents should do all they can to expose them to all the things that are uniquely Jamaican. Show them the beauty of our countryside; introduce them to Jamaican foods, even if their parents have sent them to you with a suitcase full of cornflakes and with instructions that they be fed at the too-prevalent American fast-food outlets.
Talk to them a little bit about Jamaicans like Marcus Garvey and Bob Marley--a little bit of our history and culture. They may not seem to hear because they don't seem to be able to sit still for a minute, but somehow the message does get through.
Apart from giving their parents a short break from the hassles of taking care of children in North America or the United Kingdom, you will have given them a gift that will last the rest of their lives.
