GRANDparents
- "Life" Books, Children, Family, Friends & Neighbors, GRANDparents, Let's be Real, Mommy, My Little, Pass it On...
Be Human. Be Real.
Babies. I know not everyone shares my overjoy and love of the tiniest humans among us, but allow me to share some perspective from what makes my heart come alive. First, my Lucy would have been eight this year, so I would still be in the midst of raising my girl and loving to learn about whatever she was loving at the moment. But she is with Jesus and He still has me on this side of Heaven, so he has more work to be done in me, for sure! In the past few years I have been able to watch quite a few of the children I kept get…
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“Hope is My Favorite Thing to Have”
Let me pause before I start todays post… I must say my heart is deeply grieved for the many who have had their lives completely shattered- by violence, by policy, by “well-educated” people who have no clue what their “self-educated” counterparts are going through, by unacceptable and nasty comments and remarks. The cruelty is at a level that is beyond I could have ever imagined, and I don’t know where or when it will hit the peak for enough of us to shout STOP! So until then, I am just letting you know if you are out there thinking, “am I the only one yelling at the tv?” Let me…
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Family Moments
“Family moments are the best souvenirs.” Moments. Maybe a split second decision. A window of time that surprised you, and allowed you to spend time with family. A car ride conversation. A road trip. A stay-cation. It’s the moments within in these times that we remember, that children remember. There is a five year gap between my brother and I, which to some seems like a lot, but honestly, I love it and always have. It’s one of those things, as a kid, you didn’t really think about unless somebody pointed it out. We have always been best friends, partners in sneakiness, and have always loved family. Family trips and…
- "Life" Books, Children, Children Come, Consider This..., Family, Friends & Neighbors, GRANDparents, Grief, Let's be Real, My Little, Pass it On...
Children Grieve Too
“There’s a stillness about grief. A process. An overwhelming hush. Some days it screams about the one I miss. Some days it’s a peace that there is more. Some days it’s a silent mending as tiny broken pieces are put back together. In any form, I don’t mind the quiet — it’s a sign of an endless love, a richness, an undying hope. I’m learning that the quiet is part of the sacred mess of grief, of aching, of mending, of becoming whole when part of you is gone. It’s sacred and holy, and because of that it makes me feel just an inch closer to him. I don’t want…
- "Life" Books, Aunt-ing, Children, Chronic Illness, Consider This..., Family, Friends & Neighbors, GRANDparents, Let's be Real, Memories, Pass it On...
When “Showing Up” Looks Different
“I’m learning to love the pauses, the quiet stretches, where nothing much is happening, but everything feels okay.” -Unknown The man in the picture above, my Paw-Paw, is the closest thing to being a “show up” legend for his grandchildren and even other children he loved! He wasn’t perfect, and he wouldn’t want to be seen as such. But when he started to get to weak to make his two a day visits to my grandma in the nursing home, it was a huge sign that he was extremely tired and his body was giving out. He worked in human resources for quite a while at the end of his…
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Heart and Mind
What is your thoughts on comments like these: “Kids will be kids.” “They are just in the terrible twos phase.” “He/She is quite the handful.” “You have your hands full!” My thoughts, can you guess? I’m not a fan. Indeed, I am the first to advocate for kids to be kids! Let them play! Good golly, adults need to chill and join in playing more often. However, this comment is very rarely ever used for this reason. Instead it’s used as an excuse for inappropriate behavior. So is the terrible twos, and all the age related undercutting comments about tweens, teens, and all in between. The latter two comments are…
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Discovery through Children Book Collecting
“Expand the definition of ‘reading’ to include non-fiction, humor, graphic novels, magazines, action adventure, and, yes, even websites. It’s the pleasure of reading that counts; the focus will naturally broaden. A boy won’t read shark books forever.” –Jon Scieszka “I believe we should spend less time worrying about the quantity of books children read and more time introducing them to quality books that will turn them on to the joy of reading and turn them into lifelong readers.”–James Patterson If you don’t know that I am borderline obsessed with children’s books, well, today you will know for sure. The picture today is only a glimpse of my first attempt at “downsizing”…
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Wanna Pack of Nabs?
“The stories of older generations aren’t relics of the past, they’re seeds for the future we build together.” -Maya Angelou Grandparents Day is this coming Sunday, this has always been a special day that is close to my heart, here are some reasons why: I was blessed to have all four of my grandparents in my life, close by, all of my “growing up” years. They all passed when I was in my twenties. I love that I was able to see them become great-grandparents, and that I have been able to see my parents become grandparents. Not everybody has this chance, opportunity, or situation. And I am incredibly grateful…
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NaNa Brings Me Marshmallows
“People say I’m ‘good with kids.’ But really I’m just a grown-up who vividly remembers how positively and deeply it affects a child to be treated with kindness and respect. I just make sure to offer the same to every child I know.” – Nancy Kopman School days. There are not many days that I can remember that I wasn’t eagerly waiting for the day to be over, and the time had arrived for me to line up for “car riders.” I can still feel this overwhelming deep breath. The sight of a gold mini van, or wood panel mini van, or green volvo station wagon, or white Nissan, or…
- "Life" Books, Aunt-ing, Children, Consider This..., Family, Friends & Neighbors, GRANDparents, Mommy, Pass it On..., Siblings
Stealing Boredom.
“I find myself worrying most that when we hand our children phones, we steal their boredom from them. As a result, we are raising a generation of writers who never start writing, artists who will never start doodling, chefs who will never make a mess of the kitchen, athletes who will never kick a ball against a wall, musicians who will never pick up their aunt’s guitar and start strumming.” Glennon Doyle I came across this quote this past week and instantly I felt heard, somehow. Quotes do this for me sometimes, well most of the time. I finished up writing mine and Lucy’s forever and always family story last…
