2011 Top Award: The Baby Boomers’ Guide to Grandparenting: An Irreverent Look at the Next Big Step
Nonstop humor, pop culture trivia quizzes and puzzles for boomer grands, the coolest Nanas and Pop-Pops ever!
Enjoy this excerpt from Chapter 1: “But We’re Too Young to Be Grandparents.”
Once upon a time in the sixties we baby boomers vowed never to trust anybody over thirty. Now our own thirtysomething years are a distant memory, and we keep getting mail from AARP. Wait a minute, isn’t that one of those organizations for old people? Clearly, somebody has made a mistake. We’re still hip. We’re still relevant. Our credentials are nothing but cool.
Weren’t boomer gals glued to black-and-white TV sets across America every time The Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show? And right away didn’t boomer guys start growing their hair longer accordingly?
Wasn’t it us boomers who danced the full seventeen minutes to “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida,” having no idea what it meant? And weren’t we the ones who drove our VW microbuses all the way to Woodstock? Okay, maybe some of us only saw the movie, but we were there in spirit. It doesn’t get any cooler than that….
As we struggled to distinguish ourselves from the generations that came before, we were thrilled to learn that I’m OK – You’re OK. Then we messed up our relationships anyway.
These were groundbreaking experiences back in the day. Way, way back. Sure the sixties were happening, but they were happening a long time ago. Yes, Hair was the musical that defined our generation, but today it just keeps falling out. And hip is great until your doctor starts talking about a replacement.
Still, from the Age of Aquarius to the day of our first senior movie discount, we baby boomers have shown an amazing talent for reinventing ourselves and making every life stage uniquely our own. Since it’s worked so well in the past, why should we approach grandparenting any differently…?
One minute we were soaring as free as Jonathan Livingston Seagull, making macramé plant hangers and baking special brownies in funky apartments decorated with batik fabrics and bookcases made of bricks and boards…. The next minute we had become decidedly earthbound, juggling jobs, families, and mortgages….
Through teething and chicken pox, school carpools and proms, we somehow survived that giant, careening roller coaster known as parenthood. Now it’s time for our kids to climb aboard this DNA-fueled ride of their lives. Intellectually we know our children are old enough to reproduce and we’re old enough to have grandchildren, but emotionally we find ourselves asking, “How can I be a grandparent when I don’t even feel like a grown-up…?”
In our hearts we know that age is only relative. And grandchildren are the best kind of relatives to have.
Fasten your seat belts. Next stop: Grandparentland.
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THEN |
NOW |
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Apples and oranges |
Macs and PCs |
|
Princess Grace |
Queen Latifah |
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Bald guys out |
Bald guys in |
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Rush to the bank by 3 p.m. |
Drop by the ATM anytime |
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Mind your manners |
Manners schmanners |
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Too many telephone poles |
Not enough cell towers |
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“You’re welcome.” |
“No problem.” |
Diana J. Ewing of Laguna Niguel, California, spent 30 years in advertising and public relations before venturing into humor writing. This is her first book.
Our top choice in 2011:
The Baby Boomers’ Guide to Grandparenting: An Irreverent Look at the Next Big Step.
Diana J. Ewing. Self-published through CreateSpace, an Amazon company, 2011
A Boomer’s Guide to Grandparenting
Kathryn & Allan Zullo. Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2004
Grandma’s Bag of Tricks: Toad Cottages & Shooting Stars – 130 Wonder-Filled Activities
Sharon Lovejoy. Workman Publishing, 2010
Grandparenting: A Survival Guide: How Better to Understand Yourself, Your Children, and Your Children’s Children
Margery Fridstein. Tageh Press, 2004
Grandparent Rock: The Grandparenting Guide for the Rock-N-Roll Generation
Pat Burns. Morgan James Publishing, 2007
Welcome to Camp Grandma – The Grandma Glue that Binds Families: The Camp Grandma Project
Mary Dawn Sandlin. Self-published, 2010
Super Granny: Great Stuff to Do with Your Grandkids
Sally Wendkos Olds. Sterling, 2009
Intentional Grandparenting: A Contemporary Guide
Peggy Edwards & Mary Jane Sterne. Fulcrum Publishing, 2008
A Cup of Comfort for Grandparents: Stories that Celebrate a Very Special Relationship
Colleen Sells (ed.). Adams Media, 2006
Letters from Grampy: Advice to Make the Most of Your Teen Years
Lawrence Grey. Self published through CreateSpace, an Amazon company, 2010
Grandloving: Making Memories with Your Grandchildren
Sue Johnson, Julie Carlson & Elizabeth Bower. Heartstrings Press, 2000
Grand Wishes: Advocating to Preserve the Grandparent-Grandchild Bond
Susan Hoffman. Collegare Press, 2007
The Joyous Gift of Grandparenting: 101 Practical Ideas & Meaningful Activities
Doug and Robin Hewitt. Hatherleigh, 2008
The Grandparents Handbook: Games, Activities, Tips, How-Tos, and All-Around Fun
Elizabeth LaBan, Nan Barbara Trostler & Grandpa Myron Laban. Quirk Books, 2009
The Really Useful Grandparents’ Book
Eleo Gordon & Tony Lacey. Broadway Books, 2010
Connect with Your Grandkids: Fun Ways to Bridge the Miles
Cheri Fuller. Focus on Family, 2009
Grandparents’ Guide to Gifted Children
James T. Webb, Janet L. Gore, Frances A. Karnes & A. Stephen McDaniel. Great Potential Press, 2004
The Granny Nanny: Conscious Grandparenting or What Every Grandmother Should Know About Babysitting
Lois Young-Tulin. iUniverse, Inc., 2005
Long-Distance Grandparenting: Connecting with Your Grandchildren from Afar
Willma Willis Gore. Quill Driver Books, 2007
Grandparenting a Child with Special Needs
Charlotte E. Thompson. Jessica Kingsley Publisher, 2009
Eye of My Heart: 27 Writers Reveal the Hidden Pleasures and Perils of Being a Grandmother
Barbara Graham (ed.). Harper Collins, 2010
Hot Granny: Fabulous at 50, 60 and Beyond!
Mel Walsh. Chronicle Books, 2007
And these classics from Arthur Kornhaber, M.D., the original Grandfather of Grandparenting:
The Grandparent Guide (McGraw-Hill, 2002)
The Grandparent Solution (Jossey-Bass, 2004)
Grandparents/Grandchildren: The Vital Connection (Transaction Publishers, 1984)
Contemporary Grandparenting (Sage, 1995)
Grandparent Power: How to Strengthen the Vital Connections Among Grandparents, Parents, and Children (Three Rivers Press, 1995)