The good, the bad, and the fun of 2021

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The good, the bad, and the fun of 2021

It’s New Year’s Eve as I write this final post of 2021. With mere hours left before we collectively not only flip the calendar page to a new month but begin an entirely brand new calendar, I want to reflect on the good, bad, and fun of this past year.

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Like mother, like grandmother: On Benjamin turning three

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Like mother, like grandmother: On Benjamin turning three

When my eldest daughter was born in 1982, I committed myself to diligently filling out her baby book regularly so as to not miss recording a single milestone or moment.

When my second daughter arrived in 1983, I continued to be fairly consistent in keeping track in her baby book, too.

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How to survive being a long-distance grandma to a baby

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How to survive being a long-distance grandma to a baby

I first fully grasped the definition of the word 'bittersweet' in late 2007, when I learned I was going to be a grandmother. I was thrilled to have a grandbaby on the way, but it literally hurt my heart to know I'd be only a minor player in the baby's daily life, due to how far away my new grandchild would live.

Yes, I was a long-distance grandma from the get-go. I’m still a long-distance grandma to the one who first made me a grandmother. To his two brothers, as well.

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How grandparents can help grandkids build social skills

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How grandparents can help grandkids build social skills

While adults may joke about needing to relearn how to be around others in a post-pandemic world, children can also benefit from a refresh of certain soft skills — especially young children who may not remember pre-pandemic life.

Building on these skills can also help children prepare for a successful return to school.

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Family-friendly ideas for summer fun with grandchildren

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Family-friendly ideas for summer fun with grandchildren

Warm, sunny days are the perfect setting for making family memories, but they’re also ideal opportunities to encourage grandkids to get creative and let their imaginations soar.

These ideas for summertime activities encourage family interaction, and the more kids get to help plan and organize the details, the more engaged you can expect them to be.

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Grandma's heroes: Where the boys are

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Grandma's heroes: Where the boys are

Kids across the country—and their parents and teachers, too—are celebrating the end of the most challenging school year ever. From pre-K to college age, students have survived a school experience not a single adult alive has ever had to muddle their way through, thanks to Covid.

Sure, parents and teachers had it rough (often beyond rough) making the schooling work somehow, some way. Yet no one over the age of 30 can fully comprehend how it felt and what it meant—and continues to mean—being a kid of any age enduring the wacked out way the 2020-2021 school year went.

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