For nearly two decades, Gretta Freeman has held a freewheeling roundtable discussion with her seven grandchildren. Now grown and spread out across the country, those grandchildren shared what the roundtable has meant to them via letters to their grandma:
Jenny Cukier, 35: "It was never, 'We're going to bring up a problem and solve it.' It was always more like you had all these people who faced what you were going through. You felt like you had a team around you."
Katie Giesting, 34: "She does not feel the need to discipline or steer us in a specific direction. She actually listens without judgment, and this has created a generational bond that none of us grandchildren will ever forget."
Rebecca Lesure, 32: "We share in each other's happiness, and provide comfort, guidance and personal experience to help each other through tough times."
Zach Freeman, 30: "Striking up a conversation with Grandma Grettsy is not your ordinary affair. She wants to dive deep. She wants every single detail, down to what you were wearing and why you chose that outfit for the particular occasion."
Mike Freeman, 30: "We've had engagements, weddings, funerals, new jobs, college degrees, home purchases, pregnancies, babies and so much more."
Ben Freeman, 26: "When I talk to my cousins, we still joke about Grandma's famous Thanksgiving cranberry sauce (from a can), and we remember triumph and heartbreak from the family's Hanukkah dreidel tournament."
Matthew Freeman, 24: "The roundtable put into perspective the trivial nature of many of my concerns and allowed me to take greater advantage of my time in college. I learned that a career path is built, not given. I learned that relationships require work and effort."
