Grannies in the same room, at the same time

[LaudCodec]

When I was kid, my grandparents were completely separate. I never saw them in the same room as one another, and they never really mentioned each other. There was no animosity, they were just separate.

Then one day both my grandmothers were in the same room, at the same time, and spoke to each other. I forget why but it’s indelibly etched in my psyche. My God, it was like when Pacino and De Niro met on screen for the first time in “Heat”. Like two separate worlds colliding.

Can anyone relate?

Not really the point of your thread but I clearly remember when I discovered that my grandmother (called her nannie) was my dad's mum.

No estrangement or anything but the penny dropped that that's what grandparents were, your parent's parents.

I only remember them all in one room at Xmas when I was really small.

One Gran was fit as a fiddle and was always doing some form of 'womens work' but the other was disabled and had to be waited on hand and foot. I have no memories of them chatting together but the 2 Grandads did over a whisky or two.

Yes, I can. I never saw my grandparents together. Both sets lived three hours away from us, in opposite directions.

But there is one picture of me as a newborn, in my mum’s parents’ house, being held by my dad’s mum. As a child I think I felt like you seeing them together - why she in that house!

I don't remember my paternal grandfather at all as he died when I was a baby and I barely remember my paternal grandmother as she died when I was 4.

However, I think I sort of get the feeling of worlds colliding. It sounds like a more familiar (literally) version of when you see your teacher in the supermarket when you had previously assumed they lived and spent their entire existence at school. I couldn't have been more surprised if I encountered a monkey on day release from the zoo.

It's weird the things that stick in your mind as a child!

I've not thought about it before, but the 2 sides of my family were completely seperate.

My two grannies stayed with us once ( more than that would have ended in murder!) They were the complete opposite in looks and temperament and agreed on nothing. They tolerated each other, but sometimes made some acid repostes to each other’s comments. Would have made a good sitcom!

My grannies met only once at my sister's wedding in 1965. One grandad didn't come.

My grandparents all lived in the same town and attended the same church, so knew each other socially before my parents got married. They even went on holiday together both before and after my parents were married I think. One grandparent died when I was young, and the widowed one always got invited to family events on the other side of the family.

My parents and In-laws also lived in the same town, and knew each other a bit before we started dating. DC will definitely have seen both sets of GPS together at family occasions, but as one set never travel we haven't hosted both at one time.

I don’t remember my grandparents ever meeting, they lived hours apart from each other and we very much saw them separately. I remember as a child looking at photos of my parent’s wedding where both sets of grandparents were together in some photos and finding it weird to think of them having met! I think I would have felt like you had they ever been in the same room when I was a child!

My grandparents used to meet up every week to play cards, independently of my parents.

I loved it on the rare occasions I was staying with them. They didn’t know each other before my parents met but they didn’t live far apart.

I don't think my different set of grandparent ever met unless it at at wedding or a birthday.

Kind of like when you see your teacher outside of school as a kid, totally get it!

Wondering now if my two sets met much and if I was present op, must ask!

My grandparents only met at weddings and joint family events , my parents and in-laws were the same , certainly wouldn’t have all got together for Christmas or anything , they were very different people .

Me too. Im 50 and all my grandparents were gone by the time I was 12. Car ownership was less prevalent then too, which impacted on meeting up. The one set of grandparents who lived further away didn’t have a car, so we’d go visit them. It was rare that they’d come to us.

Yeah, I can’t remember ever seeing both sets of grandparents together.

Yes! It was so odd when, for some occasion I've forgotten now, they met, and I was watching with fascination that they were talking to each other like they knew each other, and I realised they would have at least met at my parents' wedding and obviously other times before I was born! I was much closer to one grandmother and saw more of her than the other as well.

It’s funny, I’m sure my two grandmothers (and I expect grandfathers) must’ve been around each other sometimes… but I can’t think when!! My grandfathers would’ve been grand, could’ve sat in silence and slight awkwardness until there was a good excuse to run back to/go out on their respective farms, but I expect my mums mum didn’t think much of my dads mum, which is entirely reasonable as she’s a horrible piece of work, and I expect my dads mum thought she was miles better than my mums mum, same as she thought about everyone she ever met.

That must be one of those ‘No is a complete sentence’ responses. 😁

I never had gp’s growing up😒

My situation was the opposite - my two grans came to ours for dinner on Sunday regularly. As an adult I wonder how they viewed it - they were both polite to each other but had very little in common (one quite affluent, one quite poor). My parents and my partner's parents have never met and hopefully never will - the thought completely stresses me out. Luckily they live hundreds of miles apart!

My parents have met DH’s parents once - at our wedding. Our kids aren’t christened so that opportunity didn’t present itself and our sets of parents live a 3 hour drive apart so their paths just don’t cross. Neither set of parents are bothered by this set up.

I come from a big, very close, noisy family which would likely terrify and overwhelm my quite sedate in laws so probably for the best…..

My paternal grandmother and maternal grandfather had lunch with us every Sunday and would have met each other at various family events, celebrations.

All DDs grandparents are deceased but prior to that, my parents and DPs father all knew each other and would meet at family celebrations.
It would be really unusual in my circle for both sets of grandparents to not know each other ( bar family fall out or distance preventing meeting)

If this was not your norm, then I can see how it would feel odd in the moment:

Now I think about it, my kids are about to have the same experience as I'm bringing my mum with me to meet my MIL who lives abroad, for the first time since they were born.

Yes I get that. I am a grandmother and there are incredibly few times when I might be in the same place at the same time as the other grandparents. Likely to only be events such as weddings of a grandchild I think.

No lol my parents divorced when I was 4 but the grandparents kept seeing each other for years and years. In fact we lived down the street from one set and the other set would visit them without stopping in to see us 😅