The Joy and Wisdom of Grandparenting
Gramping Oliver BY BOB PUTMAN My son Dan plucks pudgy, blue-eyed, 20-month-old Ollie from his walker and lays him on a changing pad. Elissa’s refined tastes adorn the living room: a contemporary white sofa and stuffed chair, dark bookcases, and the striated blue rug they chose together. She’s currently at work, leading an HR team … Read more
Hooray, Grandpa’s Home! Music at Dusk August 1957 BY BOB PUTMAN We tote our dinner plates to the sink as the sun slips below the treetops. Sandy scrapes and washes the dishes, I dry them, and they clink and clatter as Grandma stacks them in the cabinets overhead. The screen door hinges screech. “Hooray, Grandpa’s … Read more
GRANDPA AND THE JELLYBEAN DRAGON Lessons on contentment from a pocket-sized philosopher By Ron Fredman One of the nicest things about being a grandpa is getting to meet all the little ones’ friends. Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting a dandy—a half-inch blend of dragon and glossy-red jellybean. We found ourselves bench-mates while four-year-old … Read more
Modern grandfathers refuse to let thinning hair define their golden years. Today’s hair restoration options allow mature men to maintain full, healthy heads of hair while keeping their natural silver sophistication. The days of accepting baldness as inevitable are fading faster than a bad hair dye job. Among the most promising developments for aging scalps … Read more
“They are from a different generation!” How often have grandparents heard this declaration from other family members, educators, and daycare workers? Undeniably, today’s children are very different from when you were little. They are internet natives and more comfortable with blended families. They also have fancy toys and interactive games that never existed before. And … Read more
BY CHRISTINE CROSBY How to be the perfect grandma is the title of a book by Bryna Nelson Paston. It’s one of many in my robust library of grandparent books. As the editorial director (along with many other jobs) for almost 20 years, I’ve accumulated quite a collection of grandparent wisdom. This title caught my … Read more
The Most Common Grandparent Name In Every State Thanks to the folks at Coventry Direct, we now know the most popular grandparent names by state. The following are the results of a recent survey they conducted. They say it takes a village to raise a child, and here at Coventry Direct, we know that grandparents … Read more
BY TOM WATKINS Owen Daniel, my 8-year-old grandson loves to read and has a great sense of humor. While spending time together he found this book (How to Raise a Grandpa) and had a great time presenting it to me! Later I asked, “ O— short for Owen, you going to spend time with Grandpa … Read more
A Great Granddad BY MARTIN GLEESON Limerick, Ireland Mary stopped the car just outside Leonard’s Newsagents. She handed a $20 note to her ten-year-old son David and told him, “There will be plenty of birthday cards on the shelves. Just get a nice one with HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDDAD on it. Make sure it doesn’t have the … Read more
Reflections of a grandpa standing in for mom BY TOM WATKINS It is not like I totally forgot how difficult it was to spend nonstop hours, day in and day out being a parent to a supercharged toddler. Hey, I am a professional social worker, a former state mental health director and state superintendent of … Read more
The Sunday School of Grandma and Grandpa By Barbara Greenleaf When our younger daughter saw that Sunday school was not going to reopen due to the Coronavirus, she asked her father and me if we would take over her boys’ religious education. We just looked at each other blankly and, frankly, a little panic-stricken. Neither … Read more
What I learned about my father when he became Grandpa BY CAROLINE CHIRICHELLA Dear Dad, I think it’s fair to say our relationship has never been better…now that we’re 5,000 miles apart. Before you take this the wrong way, let me explain. You and I have always had a good, healthy relationship. You taught me how to swim, we played tennis together … Read more
The Adventures of the Ageless – Granny and Grandpa are HOT! BY JAN MARSHALL Currently, silly statements proclaim that 80 is the new 60 which becomes the new 30 and so on, thus changing every number we have known from the beginning of time to a different value. Then comics and others poke fun at … Read more
Being Grandma and Grandpa BY EMILY STIER ADLER AND MICHELE HOFFNUNG How would you like to win a copy of Being Grandma and Grandpa? CLICK HERE TO ENTER A pre-addressed email will pop up. All you need to do is put your name and email in the body and click send. This is not your … Read more
