By Michele Harris
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE
Legendary comedy writer, Gene Perret once said, “Grandparents are there to help the child get into mischief they haven’t thought of yet.” Perret’s quote is just one of the many sayings, stories and “Grandparent-isms” that make up Laurel Seiler Brunvoll’s book, All my Bad Habits I Learned From Grandpa. She’s also written, All my Good Habits I Learned From Grandma. Together, these two volumes paint a loving portrait of the very special people known as grandparents.
The inspiration for these warm-hearted tributes to grandparents came from Brunvoll’s own family. “My kids would come home from hanging out with their grandfather and inevitably, do something that would prompt me to ask where they learned that and they would say from their grandfather,” says Brunvoll. “It got to the point where my husband would joke that they learned all their bad habits from their grandfather.”
Many different authors contributed stories to these volumes. Some are older peoples’ recollections of their own grandparents – living through the depression, fetching bottles left by the milkman, loading cane poles and minnows into the trunk of a ’53 Chevy Bel Air. Other stories are more contemporary, including a story about a little boy trying to teach his grandmother how to play a video game. One story, written by a 13- year-old girl recounts her grandmother’s penchant for riding roller coasters.
Brunvoll, who was both a contributing writer and the editor of the two books, believes that grandparents play an invaluable role in the lives of their grandchildren. “Grandparents don’t get wrapped up in the busyness of life,” she says. “So the time they spend with their grandchildren is special. They are like a cheerleader . . . to have someone in your corner all the time like that is so important in this day and age.”