25 Things Our Abuelitos Taught Us That We’ll Never Forget
Today is National Grandparents Day and we wanted to give a special shout-out to all our abuelitos! For many Latinx families, the abuelos tend to be the strength of the family
Photo: Unsplash/@rodlong
Today is National Grandparents Day and we wanted to give a special shout-out to all our abuelitos! For many Latinx families, the abuelos tend to be the strength of the family. They are often the example, the inspiration, and the motivation for a familia. There is a good chance that abuelito or abuelita sacrificed so much to come to this country in search of a better life and future for their children, and in turn, you. As a result, many of us try to do our best to live our best lives, make them proud, thank them, and give back through our achievements and success.
In addition to their sacrifices, grandparents also give us a wealth of wisdom and knowledge. What a person learns over the course of several decades is pure gold, so talk to your grandparents and learn from them. Here are 25 things about abuelitos that we appreciate every day!
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Love
The first and most important thing that our abuelitos teach us is love. They give us unconditional love, tough love, spoiled love, and teach us how to love others in return. Grandparents love nothing more than doting on their grandchildren, and it’s something we love and appreciate all our lives.
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A Different Side to Our Parents
We have our own unique relationship with our parents and know them on that level, but it’s cool to see how they interact with their own parents. We get to see a side of them we wouldn’t otherwise. And nothing beats those stories grandma and grandpa share about mom and dad.
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Sacrifice
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Grandparents are also a symbol of sacrifice. They gave up so much to raise a family, put the needs of their spouse and children ahead of their own, and for many, uprooted themselves to move to another country.
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Faith
For many of us, we first learn our faith through our parents and then from their parents. Grandparents teach us prayers, how to stay connected to God or a divine being, all the religious and spiritual traditions one should know, and to live a life full of faith.
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Family Leadership
Grandparents often have the ability to be the glue of a family and keep them together. This is through family leadership. They have the wisdom to know what really matters and what unimportant things don’t need attention. They are often the ones to talk sense into family members and remind them when a big family reunion is way overdue.
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Strength
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A long and fruitful life often requires several moments of strength. There is a lot one has to deal with, process, and overcome. We don’t give seniors, including our grandparents, the credit and respect they deserve when it comes to their wisdom, strength, and overall badassness. They’ve been through it and got through to the other side successfully!
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About the Past
One of the things you’ll regret the most when your abuelitos are no longer here in the physical form is that you didn’t talk to them enough and learn more about them and your family. There is so much to learn from them and so many stories to be told! Not only about the fam, but also about how life was in the decades in which they grew up and later became adults.
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How to Spoil Your Loved Ones
Abuelitos are notorious for this. They will spoil the heck out of their grandchildren and let them do all the fun things their parents won’t, like eat candy and buy all those toys they don’t really need. They’ll cook yummy meals at a moment’s notice and dote on them in all sorts of other ways.
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Family Unity
Grandparents are all about family togetherness. Whether it’s them saying so or the rest of the family getting together for their sake, the fam unites and stays united. It hopefully inspires the next generations to be that person or people to keep everyone close.
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How to Age Gracefully
Grandparents, as they age, come to terms with all the changes their bodies, minds, and spirits are going through. They know how to evolve with the changes and hopefully when to ask for help when necessary. They learn to age with grace, instead of trying to hold on to a stage in their lives that is no more.
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About Relationships
Grandparents have lived for several decades, so you know they have all the best advice on life. When it comes to relationships, those who are in loving marriages can share the secret to their success. And any grandparent can share their wins and losses in love, and what they’ve learned.
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How to Cook and Clean
Those dope family recipes and tips to getting the house sparkling and smelling brand new starts with abuelita and trickles their way down through the family. She’s the one who knows all the OG tips and tricks to cleaning efficiently, what ingredients you have to include when cooking specific meals, and how much to use.
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About Your Culture(s)
Just like religion, culture is taught at home from our elders. They share with us the customs and traditions they grew up with, that their abuelitos taught them. This information is gold and should never be lost (although there are things here and there that evolve with time and change from one generation to the next).
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How to Adapt to Life’s Changes
We mentioned this when talking about aging gracefully, but grandparents have lived a lot, and that means adapting to a lot of changes. Life isn’t in our control, and so many things happen throughout the years. You are successful in life when you adapt to these shifts, time and time again.
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The Importance of Tradition
The older generations are usually more traditional, and share the costumbres they grew up with with the younger generations of their family. It is then up to us to share these traditions with our children and grandchildren. These are the things that keep families united and keep us close to our culture.
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Respect
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Growing up, we are taught to respect our elders. This starts with respecting grandpa and grandma and the folks from their generation. Hopefully, we take this rule with us as we grow up, and apply it to everyone who deserves it.
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Appreciation
A long life lived, like those lived by grandparents everywhere, is filled with appreciation. Appreciation for life, for health, for family, happiness, success, overcoming adversity. If you live each day with more appreciation than complaints, you’re living the right way.
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The Value of Hard Work
The older generations are always known for their excellent work ethic. They worked hard at their job to provide for their family. They worked hard at their marriage. They worked hard to achieve their dreams if they decided to pursue them. They worked hard to go to another country, start again from scratch, and succeed. We can definitely take a page out of abuelita’s or abuelito’s book when it comes to the meaning of hard work.
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Being Selfless
As parents and spouses, grandparents think of others first. They continue this selflessness when they have grandchildren. Abuelitos give their all to their family, and get happiness from making them happy, inspiring us to do the same.
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How to Be a Boss
A lot of grandparents are straight bosses. They lead their family, many have started their own businesses which they will leave as a legacy for their brood, and they’re also the bosses of their own lives. They show us what we can be like when we are their age.
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Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff
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The older you get, the more you realize that all the small things you worry about so much don’t actually matter at all. That the stress isn’t worth it. This wisdom comes with time and life experience, something that abuelitos have. They are often the ones to calm our parents and us down and help put everything into perspective.
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Family First
Another thing in life that is reinforced with time is that often, the only ones who will always be there, no matter what, is your family. That your loyalty belongs to them, and that everything starts and ends with them. “Family first” is a motto that grandparents teach their children, and hope that they teach their children.
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Keep Your Circle Small
The greatest life lessons come from, well, living life. After decades of experience with friendships, love relationships, and interactions with family, people who are the age of our abuelitos learn that it’s best to keep your circle small. Less drama, and more quality than quantity.
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The Importance of Having Good Manners
Grandparents are sticklers for manners. Your elbows should be off the table, you should eat using your utensils correctly (not like you’re stabbing your steak), and you should never eat with your mouth full. These are just some of the etiquette pointers our abuelitos teach us when we’re young. Thank God, since good manners are so important to have!
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Do Your Very Best at Everything
The older generations were raised to be disciplined and dedicated; to work hard and do their very best at whatever they set out to accomplish. It’s no surprise, then, when they expect this from their hijos and nietos. Their work ethic and dedication to excellence should be a major inspiration in our lives!
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All Those Remedios Caseros
The last thing we want to thank abuelitos for, in this case, most abuelitas, are all those remedios caseros, or homemade remedies. The tea with honey and lemon for colds, the soup, knowing about all the ways all those herbs and spices actually help our health, and even for the old wives’ tales that aren’t actually true (like having wet hair will give you a cold). It’s the perfect blend of natural health, saving money, Latinx culture, and a grandmother’s love.
