Growing With Our Grandchildren

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Hello, friends, Shirley Showalter here, co-author with Marilyn McEntyre of The Mindful Grandparent: The Art of Loving Our Children's Children, from Broadleaf Books, May, 2022. Having embraced elderhood, we invite you to do the same.

In 2013 I published Blush: A Mennonite Girl Meets a Glittering World. Previously, I was a professor, a college president (Goshen College), and a foundation executive (the Fetzer Institute).

Most recent blog posts

We used to get great cuddle pictures. Now it's really hard to get three kids to look up and smile for the camera.

New Year’s Resolutions 2020

Christmas came. Christmas was wonderful, overflowing with “energies” (granddaughter Lydia’s latest word). Christmas, and 2019, are now history. When the house gets quiet again, my spirit searches for poetry. “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.” –Augustine of Hippo Here on this…

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What do you think she calls him?

Your Grandparent Name: A Twenty-first Century Choice

What is one of the oldest jokes about becoming a grandparent? “I don’t mind being a grandma, but I’m not sure about sleeping with a grandpa!” Getting used to the role of grandparent takes time, but is a universal experience. Getting used to the name, these days, is much more culturally variable. Depending on how…

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Carol Bodensteiner joins Mayor Pete and me at the base camp before the Nov. 1 rally and LJC Dinner.

I See Iowa Politics Up Close, and Carol Chooses Her Candidate!

Remember my friend, Carol, who lives in Iowa? I wrote about her in June. We met online as memoir writers, presented together at Prairie Lights bookstore, and have stayed in touch by phone for several years. In June, Carol was still trying to decide who she will caucus for in February. Well, there’s news to…

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