Magical Memoir Moments
A Week with Kate: Working and Playing with My Memoir Marketing Director
One of the rewards of intensive parenting of young children is that they grow up to be friends. I love spending time with both my adult children and their families. Last week, I enjoyed the luxury of spending five whole days with my daughter Kate. We both are blessed with flexible schedules, so we can…
The Crucible of Winter: What Has It Taught You?
“Winter is not the death of the life cycle, but its crucible.” — Katherine May I have been through a very painful winter. Have you too? Today, turning the calendar page today to March 1 felt liberating. Then a walk in balmy, windy, air, listening to birds, looking for crocuses and pansies, admiring the…
My Three Cherished Things: Preserving the Stories that Go With Them
Last week I shared a conversation starter question that ignited a lively discussion. Readers shared three things they most cherished, three things they would clutch in a fire. I promised to share mine. So here goes. My first choice: I was wearing this ring on my right hand while I tried to choose my three…
Baby Songs: “You’re Gonna Thank Me Everyday”
Did you have a record player in your house long ago? This record player came from an estate sale, the first one Nik and Kate went to several years ago. The price was $150. That number seemed high. It’s probably about as much as the original cost in the late 1950s or early 60s. They…
Living in a Almost Tiny House: Creative Grandparenting Spaces
When we decided to move to Pittsburgh for a year, to help take care of granddaughter Lydia, we thought it would be important to have a place of our own. The more intimate the work, the greater the need for two-family-privacy, was the idea. So we moved into one apartment and later into another. But…
Moving Across the Bridge: From Dream to Reality, Christmas to New Year, and Part I and Part II of Our Pittsburgh Adventure
The end of December is like Monet’s Japanese footbridge, says writer Philip Martin. For us, this time has been a moving experience, bridging Christmas and New Year, dreams with reality, and the first half of our “grannynanny” sojourn with the last half. Christmas Kate and Nik hosted our whole family in Pittsburgh, the city of…
Feeling Useful: A Place Where Age and Love Meet
In my twenties and thirties and forties, I was a professor. In my fifties I was a college president. In my sixties I was a foundation executive. Now that I am six months away from age seventy, I’ve been promoted to “granny nanny.” But what, exactly, does that mean? Obviously, it means helping to keep…
Our New City: Pittsburgh
First it was Brooklyn. Now it is Pittsburgh. The grannynanny gig takes us to cool places. I’m trying to learn all I can about Pittsburgh. I ask all my new friends for help. Let’s start with geography. This is a city of three rivers and 466 bridges. In the U. S., only New York City…
Laughing Every Day: The September Report
“A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.” That Proverb poetry branded itself in my spirit. I’ve always loved a good laugh, whether a chuckle or a guffaw. According to the latest edition of the AARP magazine, “Laughing can give your immune system a temporary boost, ease pain, relax arteries and offer your torso a…
Wiping Away the Tears, Embracing the Fears, Celebrating the Joy!
The birth of a new baby brings all our emotions to the surface: curiosity, fascination, elation, and joy beyond compare. There’s also terror! “Is she breathing?” “Will I let her down?” “How do I handle the responsibility for another life?” Every parent asks these questions, alternating between ecstasy and anxiety. Fortunately, others have been there…