What grandparents give us

At the heart of Grandparents’ Day — celebrated today — are three simple ideas: honoring them, celebrating the love they give, and recognizing the strength and wisdom one generation can pass to the next.

We spoke separately with Carole Hess (Nana) and her triplet grandsons, David, Charlie and Alexander Brush. Again and again, their answers returned to the same things: strength, time, laughter and love. They also shared stories of their late Papa, Donald Hess, whose influence remains strongly felt in the family.

CAROLE HESS (NANA)

“It’s precious.” Carole treasures her summer months on Shelter Island with family. When she arrives, her grandsons are there to welcome her. For Nana, it’s the conversations, family gatherings and simply being together that make these months “precious.”

DAVID BRUSH

“That’s where I got all the strength, all the strength.” David completed 10,001 chin-ups in nearly 24 hours, raising more than $16,000 for Parkinson’s research in honor of Papa. As the challenge grew harder, he persevered, drawing strength from Nana, bundled in a down jacket, her eyes fixed on him. “Had she not been there … I would not have had the strength to do that at all.”

ALEXANDER BRUSH

“The amount of love she shows everybody in her life.” That’s what Alexander treasures about Nana. She makes sure those around her know they are loved. On one of their Shelter Island yard-sale adventures, Nana bargained for a box of old pens. Inside were Pelikan and Montblanc fountain pens, treasures made all the more special because he found them with Nana.

CHARLIE BRUSH

“Spend as much time as you can with the people you love.” Charlie recently baked pies with Nana, learning one of her recipes. Even as Parkinson’s progressed, Charlie remembers Papa finding reasons to laugh, making bird calls on their neighborhood walks and startling everyone with a remarkably convincing wolf howl.