Bubby can read!

Bubby recently graduated from pre-school, with plans to move on to kindergarten this fall.

Having a mother who's a teacher means Bubby has the privilege of private tutoring sessions to prepare him for the new school year. Here is one of his first lessons with teacher Megan, er, Mommy:

My, how time flies. Seems it wasn't that long ago that I posted photos of my precious grandson playing with his poop. Now he reads — unquestionably, a more pleasant pursuit.

Today's question:

Who was instrumental in helping you learn to read?

Weekend highs and lows, plus GRAND Social No. 56

Welcome to the new week! I hope your weekend was grand. Mine was a mish-mash of highs and lows.

One significant weekend high? I participated in a workshop on using DSLR cameras in manual mode instead of auto. Meaning learning about the "three-legged stool" of aperture, shutter, and ISO. I'd read on those things, watched videos on those things time and again. But being all about numbers, which are not my thing, the concept just would not stick in my brain. Going over it in person with a pro finally made it make sense for me. The workshop was presented — for free! — by my pastor, who is a fantastic photographer (and blogger) who's more than happy to share his gift. I look forward to our next workshop: a field trip to a regional park to practice our new skills.

And a significant low? Friday night I learned my cousin — who would have been just 40 years old today — passed away unexpectedly earlier in the day, was found slumped over her computer. Tragic story, with the reason (we hope) to be revealed today once the autopsy is completed. She had a brain tumor removed in recent months, so that likely played into it. A brilliant light snuffed out too soon, breaking the hearts of many. Please keep her family in your thoughts and prayers. And cross your fingers for me too, please, as it'll be a busy week; family will arrive from Wisconsin for the funeral in the next couple days, with a few scheduled to stay at my house. I look forward to seeing my relatives, but the circumstances just plain suck.

Anyway... that was my weekend. And this is GRAND Social No. 56. Thank you so much for joining me!

How it works:

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

• To link up, 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 "Click here to enter" text below and follow the directions to add your post and graphic to the list.

• You can add up to three posts, but no duplicates, please, and none you have promoted on a previous GRAND Social linky. And no contests, giveaways, or Etsy sites, please.

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

<a 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 — bloggers and readers — visit, read and, if so moved, comment, even if just a "Hey, stopping by from the GRAND Social."

• Looking for another grandparent linky? Be sure to visit Connie's Grandparent's Say It Saturday Link Party each Saturday.

Thank you for participating in the GRAND Social!

What I learned this week: One big thing, one small thing, and one in-between

Big thing: I do daily injections to help manage my MS. It's an expensive medication, and I'm very fortunate to have insurance that covers the majority of it. Despite that good fortune, I regularly complain about having to pay my portion of the co-pay — even after co-pay assistance.

A few days ago, my prescription for the medication was called into Walgreens by my new neurologist (see below). For the past five years that I've been shooting up with the stuff, the prescription has been filled by a "specialty pharmacy," not the local Walgreens. The new nurse who called in the Rx didn't realize this, though, and erroneously sent it to Walgreens... who soon contacted me to let me know there will be a bit of a delay while they await delivery of the meds and that my cost for the 30-day supply of injections will be $6000.09.

Yes, you read that right: SIX THOUSAND DOLLARS and NINE CENTS!

I about died. Then I immediately thanked my lucky stars — and God, too — for my insurance. And for specialty pharmacies. Then I canceled the Walgreens order.

Lesson learned: In mere seconds, I realized the importance of shutting up about my measly $35 co-pay portion when I could be paying $6000.09 per month. Or going without. I guarantee I'd be going without, if not for the insurance. 

Small thing: Speaking of my MS — which I really hate to focus on but this is indeed what I learned this week — I met with a new neurologist the other day. I'd been seeing the same one since being diagnosed in 1992. He was (is) an old, old man who finally, after practicing longer than I've been alive, chose to retire a few months ago. We had our last annual appointment a year ago. He told me then (his exact words), "You are a miracle, Lisa. You are one of the few who have figured out the mind/body connection. You are truly a miracle." That was the last time I saw him. Considering his advanced age, I took his exclamations with a grain of salt.

Fast forward to my appointment this week with my new neurologist, a young gal from India (whom, maybe this is crazy to admit, I chose from the list of local board-certified neurologists mostly because she reminded me of my friend Vidya from India). After discussing this and that, my new neuro had me run through a few physical tests. Her response: "You are strong!" Then she had me walk across the room. Her eyes grew big, a smile crossed her face, and she exclaimed, "You are a miracle, girl!"

I couldn't believe it. Very same words from the young neuro as had been uttered by the old neuro.

Lesson learned: I'm a miracle... at least in the eyes of my neurologists.

The one in-between: Yesterday my grandsons and I read one of my recent picture book acquisitions while on Facetime. Well, I read it to Bubby. Mac preferred roaming the house and finding a bone for Roxy while I read. Meh... he's two.

Our Facetime session was short, but just the sort of thing I need now and then to carry me through til I hug Bubby and Mac again. I like to think it's the sort of thing they need, too — even if treating the dog to a bone takes priority.

Lesson learned: Though it usually feels akin to pulling teeth to get myself added to my grandsons' busy schedule while 800+ miles away, it's worth it. For all of us, I hope. So I'll keep pursuing Facetime opportunities. Perhaps some Skype or Google+ time will eventually follow.

That, folks, is what I learned this week — though I've not yet fully committed to the "big, small, in-between" designation I've assigned each. Depending on the hour and my mood, the order certainly could be flipped, flopped, turned inside out. Still, those are my lessons, and I'm sticking to it.

As I mentioned last week, I'll be offline Saturday and Sunday, for the most part. I hope to see you back here Monday!

Wishing you a most marvelous weekend! Cheers!

Today's question:

What did you learn this week?

Numbers that make up a life

The month of June is filled with dates of importance to my family, everything from birthdays to anniversaries to dates of gatherings and more.

Though many dates to remember and numbers to commemorate are marked on my June calendar, they're but a fraction of the dates that matter to me, to my family, just a few of the numbers that have made me who I am, for better or for worse.

Significant numbers — not all dates — roll easily off the top of my head and remind me where I came from, what I've gone through, what I have to be thankful for.

3.2

6.27

 3.10

6.19

8.18

6.10

3315

12.14

7.14

2129

7.9

8.3

1948

4.24

5.13

4396

6.22

11.16

1225

6.18

12.5

7.25

6.1

Jim is a numbers person. He works with numbers in his job. And he works with numbers outside of his job, too, manipulating them by adding, subtracting, dividing by a certain one to achieve another certain one that when added to two or three other meaningful digits result in the magical set of numbers that will, say, be the winning lottery numbers, the numbers that will add a six-figure number to the list above.

It hasn't happened yet, but who's to say it won't. Jim knows numbers, plays with them, finds comfort and answers in them.

I am not a numbers person. What I find in them, though, is this: When adding together all those I've listed above plus many others that don't roll so easily off the top of my head, the tip of my tongue, I come up with one — one lovely and amazing life that would not be the same if I were to subtract even just one single digit.

They're the numbers that count for this non-numbers person.

Today's question:

What are a few of the numbers that make up your life?

Picture this: Time flew, now he's 2

Mac celebrated his second birthday on Saturday.

Happy second birthday to my adorable and much-missed grandson No. 2.

Today's question:

June is a busy month for birthdays in our family. How many birthdays will your family celebrate this month?

Dads rule and sea life's cool: A picture book roundup for summer reading

 

When my daughters were little, we spent many summer days perusing the shelves at the public library, gathering up stacks of stories to take home and read together. No matter their ages, picture books were always represented in the piles we happily carted away — for my enjoyment as much as for theirs.

I love picture books and love, too, sharing with you those I think you will enjoy reading with your favorite kids — or on your own, if your penchant for picture books is as strong as mine. Following are six delightful hardcover releases that recently came my way courtesy the publishers (for free, without obligation), stories that make perfect additions to summer reading lists for kids of all ages.

With Father's Day soon on the horizon, what better place to begin a reading roundup than with some top tales featuring fathers.

The Deer Watch by Pat Lowery Collins, illustrated by David Slonim (ages 3-7, Candlewick Press, $15.99). This perfect summer story tells of a young boy's eager anticipation of spotting for himself the deer he's heard so much about from his dad. Father and son traverse sand dunes, marshes, an unexpected rain (followed by puddles!) and more in search of a buck or fawn. Staying still and quiet enough to witness the wonder is hard for a small boy, but if he can manage, the payoff will be one to remember.

The Matchbox Diary by Paul Fleischman, illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline (ages 6-10, Candlewick Press, $16.99) A young girl visits her great-grandfather and upon his urging, chooses from his shelves a cigar box filled with matchboxes for him to tell her its story. Each matchbox holds within it a keepsake from the great-grandfather's boyhood. As a child, the great-grandfather couldn't read or write, so he created a matchbox rather than written diary, filling it with baseball tickets, bottle caps, a lost tooth and more. He shares with his great-granddaughter the mementos of his journey from Italy and his early years in America and encourages her to start her own written diary.

My Dad Thinks He's Funny by Katrina Germein, illustrated by Tom Jellett (ages 5-8, Candlewick Press, $15.99). Dads say the darnedest things and this book hilariously highlights quite a few of those silly things that come out of their mouths. This one made both Jim and me chuckle. (Yes, I made him sit down and let me read it to him.) Kids will no doubt see their own dad in one or more of the utterings and especially giggle at the page in which Dad offers up words that clear the room — "before it really starts to smell."

FArTHER, written and illustrated by Graham Baker-Smith (ages 5-7, Templar Books — an imprint of Candlewick Press, $17.99) In magical artwork and heartrending prose, this book tells the story of one young boy whose dad goes off to war and never returns, leaving a life-long dream behind, unrealized. The boy takes up his father's dream — to fly on homemade wings — tweaking those left by his father. Through magnificent drawings of magical machinery, we see the dream of the boy and his father take flight.

Nighty-Night, Sleep Tight by Jennifer Berne, illustrated by David Walker (Ages 3-5, Sterling Children's Books, $9.95) Getting little ones off to dreamland can be a bit more of a challenge during summer. This rhyming bedtime story makes the transition smoother and will have even the most rambunctious kiddo cuddling up to say nighty-night to creatures all across the globe. Tigers, chimps, turtles and other stars of the animal kingdom get the goodnight greeting from the charming pink-jammie clad cutie.

Shimmer & Splash: The Sparkling World of Sea Life, written and illustrated by Jim Arnosky (ages 6-10, Sterling Children's Books, $14.95) Of all the books here, when Jim saw this oversized book, he exclaimed, "Bubby is going to love this one." And he is, as will all little naturalists who get a kick out of aquatic creatures of endless variety. The author and illustrator — a renowned naturalist — has so jam-packed this book with life-size illustrations, it took seven fold-out pages to feature it all. Personal stories of close encounters with sea creatures plus fascinating facts and descriptions of everything from fiddler crabs to blacktip sharks and manatees make this a must-have for any child (or adult) who appreciates amazing ocean dwellers and related accounts of their discovery.

Disclosure: I received free copies of these books; I share them here not because I was paid or obligated to do so (I wasn't), but because I think they're pretty darn good. I hope you do, too.

Today's question:

What books have you read (picture book or not) that feature memorable fathers, good or bad?

What I learned this week: I must make time for life... offline

 

Summer is upon us and the outdoors beckons. Which is why, after much back and forth, debating and deliberating, I finally learned this week what I must do: I realized/learned/confirmed that I must allow time in my schedule for life... offline.

Making the time for life offline will require some online changes. Changes to my blogging schedule, to be exact. See, I have been publishing a post on Grandma's Briefs every single day since July 25, 2009. Many of you have been reading those daily posts that long, too. Which is so incredible and heartwarming and humbling.

But I think we're all sitting on our butts and staring at screens far too much. I know I am.

So I'm proposing that now that summer has arrived, we not focus on Grandma's Briefs — at least not on the weekends. I'm talking only weekend-long breaks, as I couldn't bear to take a full-fledged summer-long break from blogging; it's in my blood now, and I could not survive without it. I hope you, too, couldn't bear to live without my blogging. (Yes, I do like to flatter myself now and again.)

But weekends, especially in the summer, beckon all of us to get up and move, to do something, to live. So I'm going to do my part this summer and no longer post the scintillating — and, yes, sometimes silly — stuff you've grown to expect in this space on Saturdays and Sundays.

It's going to be hard. My four-year habit will surely be difficult to break. But a break is what we all need. A break that gets us offline. At least on the weekends. At least for the summer.

With that said, consider this post the official notice that you will not find new content on Grandma's Briefs come tomorrow morning. That doesn't mean, of course, that you can't visit here on the weekends, if you choose. Grandma's Briefs will always be open, always welcome one and all who want to visit any day, any time, any page throughout the site. So if you do drop by on a Saturday or Sunday, feel free to catch up on anything you may have missed during the week.

(Of course, you just might see me drop in on the Grandma's Briefs Facebook page on Saturdays and Sundays; just nothing regular or scheduled, for sure.)

Now, as I said, it's going to be be a challenge for me to not share with you over the weekend. Proof being that I already had a doozy of a video to post for my regular Saturday Post feature. So I'm going to share it here today; I simply couldn't wait until Monday for this one.

This video came to my attention courtesy the awesome women at Better After 50. I hope it makes you chuckle as much as it did me.

With that in mind, I hope you'll remember come tomorrow that there will be nothing new happening here on Grandma's Briefs until early Monday morning. I hope I will remember that, too.

I'm pretty sure I will remember, though — because it's what I need.

And that is what I learned this week.

Today's question:

What did you learn this week?