Picture this: Thirty-one years!

Happy anniversary to my partner in crime grandparenting!

 

Today's question:

What has been your most memorable year of marriage so far?

12 Grand moments in grandparenting

Being a grandmother is one of the most surprisingly delightful adventures I've ever experienced. Some moments are more grand than others, though, moments such as these:

1. Being told you'll soon be a grandparent for the very first time.

2. Holding a newborn grandchild for the very first time.

3. The first smile a grandchild aims directly at you... and every smile they direct your way thereafter.

4. Having a grandchild hold your hand while proudly telling his buddies or teacher, "This is my grandma."

5. Hearing the news you'll soon be a grandparent for a second time.

6. Rocking a grandbaby, with his sweetly scented head nestled into your neck, a tiny blanket-wrapped body relaxed against your chest.

7. Being handed a stack of carefully colored papers, each bearing an equally carefully — albeit imperfectly — scrawled signature, accompanied by the words, "I made these for you, Gramma."

8. Turning the corner in the airport terminal to see beaming faces and wiggly little bodies eagerly awaiting your hugs and kisses.

9. Those same little bodies crawling into bed with Gramma long before the sun rises to share their dreams from the night and their plans for the new day.

10. Listening to tiny voices singing nursery rhymes, lullabies, Sunday school songs. Hearing tiny voices singing along to the car radio from the backseat, too.

11. Shouts of "Watch this, Gramma!" followed by giggles, grins and grunts as a grandchild pedals, jumps, cartwheels, makes a basket or hits a ball over the fence.

12. Being offered a high-five with consolations of "Great game, Gramma!" when the grandchild wins. Especially grand when the game was won fair and square, with no handicap offered for age.

Plus so.many.more... including their birthdays, which today is for Bubby. Happy fifth birthday to my silly-yet-sweet, first-ever grandson!

Today's question:

What are some of your favorite grand moments in grandparenting?

Silly sisters, plus GRAND Social No. 57

Welcome back! I hope your weekend warmed your heart.

I wanted to share with you a heartwarming moment from my weekend. The funeral for my cousin on Friday was a difficult affair filled with many tears. Fortunately, the gathering of friends and family afterward included hugs, smiles and unexpected moments to help the healing begin.

I enjoyed one special moment of levity with two of my four sisters — the two who bookend me in birth order, by three years on each side — as Brianna attempted to get a nice photo of the three of us together for the first time in far too long:

 

Sometimes you just gotta smile through the tears. It felt especially good to do exactly that with these two; it would have been even better if our other two sisters had been able to join us. Someday, I hope.

Also today is GRAND Social No. 57. Thank you for joining me. I'm trying out a new link party program, so please let me know if you have any problems with it. Link up, read up, enjoy!

How it works:

• All grandparent bloggers are invited to add a link. You don't have to blog specifically about grandparenting, just be a grandparent who blogs.

• To link up a post, copy the direct URL to the specific post — new or old — that you want to share, not the link to your blog's home page. Then click the blue button marked with "Add your link" below and follow the directions.

• You can add up to three posts, but no duplicates, contests, giveaways, or Etsy sites, please.

• Adding a mention such as This post linked to the GRAND Social to your linked posts is appreciated. Or, you can post the GRAND Social button anywhere on your page using the following code:

<a href="http://grandmasbriefs.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://grandmasbriefs.squarespace.com/storage/GRANDsocialbutton.jpg " alt="Grandma’sBriefs.com" width="125" height="125" /></a>

• The GRAND Social linky is open for new posts through Wednesday evening, so please come back to see those added after your first visit.

• If you're not a blogger, you have the pleasure of being a reader. Bloggers who link up would be honored to have one and all — other bloggers as well as readers — visit, read and, if so moved, comment, even if just a "Hey, stopping by from the GRAND Social."

• For another grandparent linky, visit Connie's Grandparent's Say It Saturday Link Party each Saturday.

An InLinkz Link-up