Thoughts on my walk: Confirmation

 Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.
Jeremiah 33:3

My dog Mickey and I have walked the same route most weekday mornings — barring snow, sickness, and super cold days — for the past nine-point-something years. First my collie-black lab Moses accompanied us, then my shepherd-black lab Lyla came along. Since early 2016, though, it's been just Mickey and me trekking along streets and turns and corners we've traversed countless times before.

Last week as Mickey and I walked, I was deep in thought and prayer regarding a situation one of my daughters faces. A tough spot for her and her heart as well as the hearts of her parents who simply want the best for their girl.

Mid-walk and mid-prayer I was astounded to see the following shadow on a corner. A corner I'd turned hundreds (thousands?) of times before without ever seeing the comforting image.

shadow cross 

Confirmation my...

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Jak sports a 'stache

I'm not sure whether to attribute it to his determination to keep up with his two older brothers or to the limited amount of time I've had with Jak in his toddler years compared to how often I saw Bubby and Mac in theirs. But — gee whiz! — it sure seems to me my youngest grandson is maturing So. Much. Faster. than his brothers did.

A recent share from Megan confirms my assertion: The not yet three-year-old already sports a mustache.

toddler mustache with pudding

Okay, okay. You got me. It's obviously not...

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I say that shutting up is hard to do

Dear Mr. Sedaka,

You were so right. I know that it's true. Breaking up is hard to do. Especially for teens, when true love seems a fickle, heartbreaking foe.

I do know how difficult breaking up can be. I've been there, done that. Long, long ago, admittedly one of the billions of boomers who once sang away heartbreak blues crooning along to your catchy, comforting tune.

I'm decades removed from being a youngster longing for love. And in the years since breakups with beaus broke my heart, I've found something more difficult to do than breaking up, Mr. Sedaka. And that's shutting up.

Trust me: It's waaaay harder to do than breaking up.

I'm not talking about shutting up regarding social or personal injustice. No one should ...

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On adult children: Learning the boundaries of communication (guest post)

Dear readers: This guest post was written by my grandma friend and fellow GRANDparent Network member Donne Davis of GaGa Sisterhood. Thank you so much for sharing this wisdom on the tricky-at-times relationship between parents and their adult children, Donne.

mother and adult daughter

When it comes to communicating with your adult children, where do you get stuck? I posed this question to the 25 GaGas attending our January 15 meeting and added, is it around discipline, visitation, values or boundaries?

All of the above, and more, they answered. One member said: “All I have to do is open my mouth and my son misinterprets what I’m saying.” Another joked: “OMG! Just asking ‘how are you’ can trigger...

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What moms want from grandparents (guest post)

Dear readers: Tis the season of giving, and one of the best gifts you can give — all year long — is understanding. Here, my friend and fellow GRANDparent Network member Donne Davis of GaGa Sisterhood offers insight to help us grandparents better understand the mothers of our beloved grandkiddos and what they most want from us in our grand role.

What Moms Want from Grandparents

grandmothers, mother, daughter

As I was writing my book, When Being a Grandma Isn’t So Grand: 4 Keys to L.O.V.E. Your Grandchild’s Parents, I realized that in order to help us grandmas improve our relationship with our grandchild’s parents — especially their mothers — we need to hear what moms have to say about the grandparent relationship.

I surveyed over 50 moms and asked them what they want from the grandparents. Many moms...

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Sad news

Sad news

I have written about my mother-in-law many times since starting Grandma's Briefs in 2009, posts such as this one, this one, and this one.

My mother-in-law, whom I usually call Granny as that was the name my daughters — and oodles of other grands and unrelated children — best knew her by, was a shining light in my life, pretty much the best example to me of loving unconditionally, finding joy in joyless situations, and loving Jesus with all one's heart and soul.

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Pool party!

Pool party!

Pool parties have long been a favorite way for kids to celebrate their birthdays, whether it be in their own backyard swimming pool or a paid party option at the local public swimming spot.

My daughters never got to have a pool party for their birthdays when I was in charge of party planning. In part because I can't swim and the thought of being responsible for little ones bobbing about in a body of water, large or small, scared the bejeezus out of me.

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Grandma takes a break

I like to think I'm superwoman, capable of leaping tall buildings in a single bound... while juggling 361 duties with ease.

Sometimes life smacks me upside the head and tells me I'm a doofus for thinking such things.

Right now is one of those times, and I have no choice but to cry uncle admit I'm juggling more than I'm capable of at the moment.

One thing I'm juggling is caregiving duties for Jim, who — more than a month after his emergency foot surgery — is still on crutches, still has his PICC line for the mega antibiotics fighting the foot-damaging infection he had. Which means I'm still driving him to and from work, to and from doctor appointments, still administering his IV medication each evening, still handling absolutely everything around the house because he can't put any weight on his right foot if we want it to heal correctly. (Which we truly do want, despite the hassle.)

And now, as fate would have it, the "around the house" stuff I face includes something neither of us has ever had to do, thanks to the July 28 hailstorm from hell that hit our part of town. It spared our windows and roof, for the most part, but demolished every living thing in my yard, leaving pine needles and more everywhere.

hailstorm

Other than a huge helping hand from...

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Here and now: July 29, 2016

This is what's up in my life... and an answer to why I've not been posting much "real writing" here on the blog.

clock and book

On my mind...

How to cheer up Jim after learning yesterday he is "not yet ready for prime time" after his foot surgery, according to his podiatrist. Meaning, he still cannot bear weight on his right foot. Meaning, he has yet another week left using crutches. Meaning, he must still sleep downstairs, must still go in the back door at work where they have a handicapped ramp for him to...

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