Grandparents’ Day is always the Sunday after Labor Day, which makes it this coming Sunday, September 11. In honor of this, the U. S. Census has put out some interesting facts and figures about grandparents in the U. S. I’m guessing they’re not counting same-sex grandparent households, but it’s hard to tell; the 2000 U. S. Census did have a category for same-sex unmarried partners. (HRC has done an analysis of this data, if you care.) Still, it’s an interesting page on the role of grandparents in our society, broadly speaking.
Make sure to call or drop your grandparents and/or your children’s grandparents a note (or flowers) on Sunday, if you can. Take a moment to remember them if they are gone. Reflect on the things they taught you that you want to pass on to your own children, while winnowing out that which doesn’t fit with your lives and beliefs. And happy Grandparents’ Day to those of you who are yourselves grandparents.