Magical Memoir Moments
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…
A Cartoon With Uncanny Accuracy: Predicting the Winding Blog Path
See how yellow this cartoon is? The darkest areas are tape that is no longer transparent after a decade. My colleague Amy clipped this image out of a newspaper ten years ago when she heard I was thinking about becoming a blogger.. For some reason, I kept it. I could not have known, then, that I…
The Purpose of Memories: The Question I Am Carrying from May
The month of May zipped by so fast. It was a full month. It was a busy month. Let’s start with this man and his talk at the Family History Conference: New Arrivals in a New Land, in Lancaster, PA, on May 20. John L. Ruth, historian and storyteller, told how three ships came sailing…
A Mother Blessing: Something to Consider in Your Life?
Last Sunday I participated in an alternative to a baby shower called a Mother Blessing. I knew I would enjoy it because my fun-loving, color-loving, people-loving daughter would be the expectant mother. Not only did I enjoy this event, I was deeply moved. Everything was exquisitely beautiful. We gathered at Coterie — a woman-focused co-working…
Teaching and Learning Across the Life Span: 2017 Here We Come!
As the new year begins, I am connected to young grandchildren and to the honors students, seniors at Eastern Mennonite University, I am preparing to teach this semester. Beyond this semester, I look forward to becoming a “grannynanny” again next fall.