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

1993 ad that ran in Newsweek in six states

Melodie Davis’ Memoir of an Unimagined Career

Unlike most of us, author Melodie M. Davis can locate the exact day and place when the shape of her vocation came to her. She was gathering eggs in the chicken house on the family farm when she wrote these words: “On this day, November 18, 1967, Saturday afternoon at 4:30 p.m., I decided what…

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Gloria, Tina, and Shirley dig in to the fresh honey while Mary holds the tray

Summer Adventures: It’s Not Just About the Grandkids

If it seems like my recent posts have all been about grandchildren, you are right. Seven of my last ten essays featured grandchildren in some way. These three littles are moving rapidly in time and space, and I want to capture as many memories as possible. I know many of you have older grandchildren (mine…

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Spontaneous family gathering around the bonfire.

The Bonfire of Aging—And Seven Grandparent Resources to Warm Your Heart

Perhaps you’ve heard of the Silver Tsunami, the Age Wave that is sweeping the world? It’s now a controversial term because it implies older people will overwhelm society with their numbers and their needs. Perhaps it encourages fear of aging and disrespect for the elderly—ageism. By whatever name we call it, however, we are in…

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