By Teresa Kindred, founder of Nanahood.com
“The numbers of American grandparents are at record highs and still growing at more than twice the overall population growth rate. There were an estimated 65 million grandmothers and grandfathers in 2010. By 2020, they are projected to reach 80 million, at which time they will be nearly one-in-three adults.” Source: The MetLife Report on American Grandparents
Wow, there sure are a lot of us!
While having a grandchild makes a grandparent, it doesn’t make us all alike. In fact, we are a very diverse group. If the only vision that comes to mind when you hear the word “grandparent” is a little old lady with white hair sitting in a rocking chair then you might be surprised to know that most grandparents don’t look anything like that.
For example, did you know that Mick Jagger has 4 grandchildren and is about to be a great-grandfather? The Rolling Stones just celebrated 50 years together and they are still touring.
More famous American grandparents who show no signs of slowing down: Goldie Hawn, Nancy Pelosi, Lionel Richie, Pierce Brosnan, Rod Stewart and Jim Carrey, just to name a few.
And then there are grandparents like me, who aren’t famous, but still think being a Nana (or poppa) is one of the best things that ever happened to them.
About Teresa Bell Kindred
The bloggy-est nana in the hood (the NanaHood that is)
She finds herself embarking on the second half of the motherhood journey: NanaHood. At the moment she has four grandchildren but she hopes that someday she will have enough grandchildren to fill up the gigantic swing set that Poppa recently bought. If he works very hard he might even have it put together before the next grandchild arrives!
Teresa is the author of several books including The Knot at the End of Your Rope; Ten Ways to Hold on When You are Stressed Out and Mom: PhD-A Simple 6 Step course on Leadership for Moms. She was a major contributor to Humor for a Teacher’s Heart and Cup of Comfort Devotional: Daily Reminders of God’s Love and Grace. She also authored four Precious Moments books that were illustrated by Sam Butcher.
Her magazine column “Kindred Spirits” appeared in Kentucky Living magazine for 13 years. She has been writing and blogging for numerous sites on the Internet since she discovered the wonders of cyber space and her newest endeavor, NanaHood, is truly a labor of love.
She has a M.A. in Secondary Education and has taught 7th graders, high school students and college classes and considers herself a child advocate and proponent of education reform for public schools. It is her personal opinion that public school teachers are overworked, underpaid and under-appreciated.
Teresa lives in Kentucky with her husband of thirty three years, Bill (aka Poppa), her twin sons who she can always tell apart (if she has her glasses on) and their seven dogs. She loves being a nana and anxiously awaits the day when she has at least as many grandchildren as she has dogs.
Interested in hiring Teresa to speak? Download Teresa’s One Sheet here… and visit the Teresa Speaks page for more info.