Cheers to #LifeAt50 and GRAND Social No. 72

Welcome to a new week!

I'm excited about this week as I have a super agenda lined up: I head to Atlanta on Wednesday to attend the Life@50+ National Event and Expo as a guest of AARP Member Advantages. I'm so honored to have been chosen to attend the Expo along with some top-notch bloggers I've admired from afar and will now get to connect with in person.

The Life@50+ Expo schedule is jam-packed with wide-ranging educational and entertaining offerings. Sessions focus on making the most of life's second — and third and fourth — act we boomers and beyond are in, sessions such as Get Packing! Experience the Travel Effect; Life Lessons on Faith, Forgiveness and Grace; The Secrets of Extremely Happy Couples; Balancing Work and Caregiving; and many, many more.

Also on the schedule — which delights a movie fan such as myself — are several Movies For Grownups offerings. One I definitely plan to see while at the Expo is Middleton starring Andy Garcia and Vera Farmiga. Take a look:

What's especially cool about getting to see the movie at the Expo is that Andy Garcia will be at the showing — in person. I just might be brave enough to ask for an autograph, maybe even a photo with the star. C'mon... it could happen, right?

Andy Garcia isn't the only celebrity I'll have a chance to meet, though, as the other dozen or so bloggers in the AARP Member Advantages group and I are scheduled for an exclusive meet-and-greet with Dan Marino, James "JB" Brown and Pepper Schwartz. Plus, Whoopie Goldberg and Tyler Perry kick-off the event,  while others leading or participating in Expo sessions include Jane Pauley, Diana Nyad, Samantha Brown, Martina Navratilova and many others. I'm fairly confident I won't get up close and personal with those beyond the meet-and-greet — unless, that is, they participate alongside me in the Community Day of Service Thursday morning. One can hope, right?

If you'll be at the Life@50+ Expo, let me know — I'd love to meet you there. And be sure to follow Grandma's Briefs on Facebook and Twitter as I'll post updates and photos now and then while in Atlanta.

Cheers to #LifeAt50 (the official hashtag of the Expo).

And cheers, too, to GRAND Social No. 72. Thank you joining me!

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 rel="nofollow" href="/" 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 Say It Saturday Link Party each Saturday.

Texting truths tempered with humor, plus GRAND Social No. 71

Many of you know my thoughts on texting while driving. Bottom line: It's bad.

Beyond the potentially disastrous effects of texting while driving, though, there are other reasons texting — while driving or not — isn't so great. A recent conversation between comedian Louis C.K. and Conan O'Brien  touches on a few of those reasons, and considering that our grandchildren do (or will) use cell phones and text far more than previous generations, I thought it worth sharing with you.

In the following, Louis C.K. makes a profound point about texting, tempered with humor yet oh so true.

It's something to think about next time you see your grandchildren or children texting. Something to think about next time you or I text, since some of us are just as tethered to it as the kids.

On another front: My sister is home! She has many challenges and a tough road ahead, but being home is a great start. Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers for her. You've made a difference.

And on yet another front:

Welcome to GRAND Social No. 71! Thank you joining me!

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 rel="nofollow" href="/" 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.

Helping boys cope plus GRAND Social No. 70

I have three daughters. Lifting them up and doing all I could to help them cope with getting through girlhood on their way to womanhood was always top of mind for me as a mother. For decades, it seemed the concerns of girls and the issues they face were top of mind not just for myself and other mothers of girls but for society as a whole.

In the meantime, boys and their equally scary and scarring issues fell through the cracks. I never really considered the depth of despair mothers of boys might be going through while we mothers of girls had research and support of all sorts to help us muddle our way through raising our daughters.

Now that I have grandsons, though, I do consider the plight of boys. Fortunately society as a whole seems to be considering such things a bit more of late, too.

I recently learned of a new book that, though I've not yet read it, seems to me like one everyone — parents and grandparents of boys and girls — should look into. I've added it to my must-read list after seeing the trailer last week. I was so alarmed by the stats on boys that I felt compelled to share the trailer with you.

Take a look:

(Masterminds & Wingmen on Vimeo.)

This isn't a sponsored post nor is it a review of Masterminds & Wingmen. I simply think we all should find out more about how to lift up our sons and grandsons and help them cope in their journey from boyhood to manhood. This book might shed light on how to do that. If you know of other resources that could further make a difference for boys, feel free to share in the comments. And if you read Masterminds & Wingmen, I'd love to know what you think.

I'd also love to see you participate in GRAND Social No. 70 — by either sharing a link, reading the links of those who share or both. Let's dive in!

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="/" rel="nofollow" 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.

Prayers and a post somewhere else

As a blogger, knowing how much private story to share with readers and how much to keep shuttered away for only those one knows in person can be a challenge. I sincerely want to share myself and be transparent with those who take the time to read Grandma's Briefs. If I shared here each and every personal struggle I face, though, I'm pretty darn sure you'd get sick and tired of reading about them. I know for a fact I would get sick and tired of sharing them.

So I've not yet shared the hell of the past 10 days with you. But today I will. I'm sharing today because I need to request healing thoughts and prayers from you and I need to explain why I'm sending you elsewhere — when bloggers are supposed to do all they can to keep visitors on their blog — to read a post written by me but published on another site. (Chalk it up to that whole "freelancer" thing I so want to be when I grow up.)

One of my favorite photos of my sister Debbie as a young girl. She still has that smile, that light in her eyes.See, my younger sister Debbie — the second youngest of my four sisters — has been in and out of ICU since a week ago Monday... August 26. To make a long story a teensy bit shorter, Debbie was rushed by ambulance to the hospital when her lungs and heart went into distress early Monday morning. Things haven't been good ever since, at least not for very long. She'd get stable, then have a coughing fit that would stop her heart. Lifesaving measures have been instituted a time or two.

Yesterday Debbie was transported by ambulance to the ICU at a hospital in Denver. Today she faces a heart procedure to try and figure out what's happening and how to stop it.

My sister just turned 45 August 22. This is crazy. And scary.

So today I'm asking you to please send healing prayers for my sister and for all of us who love and adore the wacky woman. Thank you so very, very much.

Because of the situation with my sister, I'm unable to gather my wits enough to write a decent post of any sort for you today. That said, though, I did recently publish a decent post on another site. On Grandparents.com, to be precise. So I'm sharing that with you here today in hopes you'll read it there. It's about sharing family stories with the grandchildren, and it begins like this:

My daughter, mother of my two grandsons, is an early childhood educator. Each school year, my daughter hosts a Grandparents Day celebration and encourages her students to invite a grandparent (or two) to attend school with them. One highlight of Grandparents Day is when the students "interview" their grandparents on what school was like for them at their grandchild’s age. The anecdotes shared by the grandparents, my daughter says, never fail to dazzle and often downright befuddle the rapt grandchildren.

There’s no need to wait until Grandparents Day to amaze and entertain – as well as enlighten and educate – grandchildren with stories of not only your past, but of their past, too. Children of all ages...Click here to continue reading 6 FAMILY STORIES TO TELL YOUR GRANDCHILDREN AGAIN AND AGAIN on Grandparents.com.

Thank you for reading. More importantly, thank you for your healing thoughts and prayers for my sister.

Cheers to Labor Day and GRAND Social No. 68

(public domain graphic)

Happy Labor Day and Happy GRAND Social No. 68! Thank you for joining me. 

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="/" rel="nofollow" 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.

Get your answers here: Letters to grandchildren, extra servings of Lisa

I like to help folks out. Because of that, I'm always pleased to see that some of what I offer up here on Grandma's Briefs meets the wants and needs of those seeking answers online. I'm talking about the search queries that lead folks here and the answers I (sometimes unintentionally) provide.

For quite some time, one of the top search queries that lands seekers on my site is related to writing to grandchildren. For example, in the past week — just the past seven days — these are a sampling of the searches in that vein that show up in my blog stats:

• letter from grandmother to grandson
• letters to a grandchild going away to college
• grandmother letter to granddaughter
• i love you message + to grandchild
• letter from grandma to grandson
• letter to grandson from grandmother
• letter to my grandson
• letter from grandmother to granddaughter
• little letter to my grandson
• letter to my newborn grandson
• what a great grandmother writes to her first great grandchild
• how to write a letter to my new grandson
• letter to granddaughter on her wedding day
• letter to your newborn granddaughter
• unborn baby letter from grandparents
• 1st birthday letter for grandson
• love letter to unborn grandchild
• message to unborn granddaughter
• ideas for letter for grandchild starting kindergarten

I noticed the trend a while back, wrote about it a while back, and now offer the answer to that particular search, regardless of how it's worded, right here in How to write a keepsake letter to a grandchild.

I also get a lot of search queries related to food. I like food. I like to share food answers, otherwise known as recipes. In the past week, I received several queries for no-crust cheesecake, breakfast pizza, and blackberry cobbler — though it's a blueberry cobbler recipe they find here, with info on using any fruit, so I guess it serves up their answer just the same. I'm happy to help out any time anyone wants a recipe, if it's one I have in my Recipe Box.

I'm also happy to help out any time anyone wants information on Zori Sandals. What? Well, I reviewed Zori Sandals a while back, and it has been at the top of my search query list for quite some time. In fact, in the past seven days, six people have landed here in their search for such, despite my review — the one right here — being more than a year old.

There also are other miscellaneous searches for grandma things that I've provided answers for in the past week, things such as (in the exact search terms) a list of things grandmas need at their house, modern day names for grandmothers, gardening with grandchildren, and countless other "grandma" sorts of stuff.

Queries such as those are easy to answer, easy to see how folks ended up here. What's not so easy? Well, try these recent queries on for size — all searches that resulted in web users landing in my little corner of the online world:

• it seems that grandmas always need a little one to hold (meh... kind of reasonable, I suppose)
• mothers of daughters like me
• "spanking spoon" diapers mom
• And the real kicker and ultimate head scratcher: but i wont do that underwear (Surprisingly, there were two searches for that!)

Ultimately, though, my favorite recent search query had to be when someone simply requested "extra servings of lisa, please."

I hope that seeker found all she'd hoped for and then some — especially because she said "please"!

Today's question:

As I mentioned, I enjoy helping folks out. So what would you like to see more of here on Grandma's Briefs? More grandma stuff? More recipes? More giveaways? More essay-type posts? More this and that related to... well... you tell me. What kinds of "extra servings of lisa" would fill you up when visiting Grandma's Briefs?

Weekend woes plus GRAND Social No. 66

Sometimes the weekends don't go quite as one might hope they would. This past weekend was exactly that way for my daughter Megan and her family.

The weekend started off all wrong for poor Megan. After a long first week of school, she arrived home Friday afternoon to find Mac in bad shape and Preston furiously scrubbing blood from Mac and Bubby's bedroom carpet. Just moments before, Mac had jumped from the night table and came down hard on the wood bedframe around Bubby's bed. Down on his mouth. His upper gum, to be exact.

Megan zoomed Mac to Emergicare while Preston scrubbed blood and stayed with Bubby. Emergicare turned her away, saying, "Get that boy to the pediatric dentist now!" She took him there, X-rays showed no broken baby or permanent teeth, and the poor little guy left with an open wound (technical term for the ouchie: degloving) that will supposedly heal relatively quickly.

Scenes from the woeful experience:

Tiny Mac prepped for the dentist.

The ouchie — after seeing the dentist.

As one Facebook friend said, "No more monkeys jumping on the bed!" I hope she's right. Not so sure Mac learned his lesson, though, as despite the pain, Mac still was a chipper little fella, evidenced by this photo taken immediately after the one above of Mommy holding back his lip:

Still smiling.

The weekend woes didn't end there for Megan and the gang. Next up was a bad-hair day — for Roxy, the family dog, who normally looks like this:

Roxy — July 2013

Megan texted me a photo Saturday afternoon of Roxy, who now, thanks to an "oops!" by the groomer, looks like this:

 

Not the best weekend ever. But as Megan said about the turn of events: It could be worse. Cheers to perspective — and to Mac's mouth healing quickly. (And Roxy's fur growing fast, too!)

Plus... Cheers to one and all joining me today for GRAND Social No. 66! Time for the party!

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" rel="nofollow" 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.