“Our grandkids deserve more from us than just hugs. They deserve to benefit from our wisdom and experience, and that requires us to be ourselves.”
BY MARGARET MANNING
I’m not your stereotypical grandma. I’m tech-savvy and I love to read. You’re more likely to find me at a belly dancing class than a ballroom dancing class. Like many women my age, I have abandoned the concept of “aging gracefully,” in favor of following my passions. I have taken off my invisibility cloak and enjoy fashion and makeup. Much to my granddaughter’s dismay, I have no idea how to make an apple pie from scratch. Cupcakes with purple icing are more my style.
When you become a grandmother, society expects you to play a certain role. They expect your grandkids to be your only priority. What they don’t realize is that most grandmas have secret lives. We love our grandchildren with all of our hearts, but they are not our only priorities.
Personally, I think that’s a good thing. After all, our grandkids deserve more from us than just hugs. They deserve to benefit from our wisdom and experience, and that requires us to be ourselves.
What Are Your Passions Beyond Your Grandchildren?
My passions are simple. Beyond my grandkids, I want to help people over fifty to live happy, healthy and financially secure lives. That’s why I started Sixty and Me, a community of 100,000 women over sixty, and Boomerly, a friend-finder service for baby boomers, on which I blog on inspirational topics and how to get more from life after fifty.
What are your passions? How do you want to improve yourself now that you have a little more time? How do you want to make the world a better place for your grandkids to grow up in?
What Kind of Example Do You Want to Set for Your Grandchildren?
I want to show my granddaughter that age is just a number. I want to take her with me on adventures that inspire her. I want her to understand the truth about aging, that we are as complex at sixty as we are at six or sixteen. I want my granddaughter to remember me not only as the person who brought hugs, but also as someone who inspired her to do great things.
What kind of example do you want to set for your grandkids?
Margaret Manning is an entrepreneur, author and speaker. She is the founder of Boomerly.com, a website that helps baby boomers to build meaningful friendships. She is also the leader of Sixty and Me, a community of 100,000 dynamic women over sixty.
