Amy Newmark's Blog - Posts Tagged "unconditional-love"

Whether an experienced grandparent, or a grand-parent-to-be, you'll love these 101 heartwarming, amusing and inspirational stories in our book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Grandparents .

We've all witnessed that special bond between grandparents and their grandchildren— it's filled with unconditional love, understanding, admiration, and even a few secrets!

The bond comes about in so many different ways — here are two of my favorite examples from the book where grandparents have created that special connection:

Make magical things happen, because grandparents can do that.
Thalia Dunn lived across the street from her grandparents and spent a lot of time with her grandfather in his garden, where he grew flowers and vegetables and had beautiful flowering trees, including a magnificent magnolia. That magnolia tree was perfect for climbing, but Thalia couldn’t get over her fear. Finally, her grandfather came up with the perfect solution. One day, he waved her over to his house and showed her that the magnolia tree had magically bloomed with colorful lollipops instead of blossoms. Thalia forgot her fear and climbed right up that tree, gathering handfuls of lollipops.

Provide that unconditional, non-judgmental support.
Five-year-old Evan Purcell didn’t understand why he liked different things than other boys, but he enjoyed singing songs from The Little Mermaid and having tea parties with the neighborhood girls. Then he shocked his extended family when he chose what they considered to be a girl’s item as his prize with the tickets he won at the arcade. His cousins were laughing at him, so he quickly picked something else. That was when his Nana spoke up. She told the arcade girl to give him the prize he had picked first. Evan says, “I didn’t realize at the time what a big moment this was, both for me and my family.” Years later, he would understand the love and support that Nana Shirl provided that day.

Amy Newmark

We learn so much from our canine companions, and along the way they keep us company, provide unconditional love, and share in the ups and downs of our lives.

What do we learn from them? Everything!

Ours dogs make us better people. If we rescued the, they rescue us back. If we're sad, they comfort us. If we need to have more fun, they show us how.

They are our best friends.

Here are two of my favorite examples from our new book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Life Lessons from the Dog, on the ways our writers have learned from their dogs:

Embrace the opportunity to get some exercise.
Winter Desire Prosapio had never liked walking, saying she had a perfectly good car. But when she and her husband adopted a dog that had always lived outside, they had trouble housebreaking him. Winter determined that the best course of action was to walk little Archer frequently. It started with simple strolls down the block, but that puppy was so full of energy that before she knew it Winter had turned into a true walker. And so had Archer. She says, “If I try to skip the walk on any given morning, he looks at me like I’ve announced that all the bacon in the world has disappeared.” And now Winter finds herself walking three miles in a day. She says, “Every now and then, I look at this little dog and think, Who is walking who?”

Giving up control can have its own rewards.
Amanda Sue Creasey was visiting her parents in a beautiful part of Virginia and she knew exactly where she was taking her dogs Jack and Sadie on their morning walk. But halfway through, Jack stubbornly resisted, planting his feet. When Amanda gave in and let Jack lead the way, he happily took Amanda and Sadie down his chosen path. Amanda says, “When we got to where he was headed, I was so glad I had let him take the lead.” Jack had taken them to a beautiful deserted peninsula overlooking the Potomac River. Amanda commented, “I realized that sometimes letting go—letting someone else take the lead—is the wisest decision one can make.”