Grand Magazine - July/August 2008 - (Page 66)

grandbloggers Why watch TV when we can talk? We love the grandparent bloggers! Here’s why Slouching Toward 40 Past B logHer (www.blogher.com), a three-year-old organization dedicated to “creating opportunities for women who blog to pursue exposure, education, community and economic empowerment,” hosts a series of frequent national conferences (there’s one this month, July 18-20, in San Francisco; the next one is October 13 in Washington, D.C.). BlogHer estimates that there are more than 15 million women in the U.S. who are bloggers (and there are at least that many worldwide, many of whom are blogging or commenting in English) and another 15 million who are participants (regular commenters) on blogs. The overwhelmingly popular theme? Family. Overwhelmingly popular with us? The rapidly increasing community of Grandbloggers, mostly women (but not all!) who share with grace and candor both the joys and the frustrations of the leadership generation. Below, a few of our favorites (and we welcome yours—it takes a while to read 15 million blogs! Just send the link to your choice of blogging grandparent to editor@grandmagazine.com and we’ll check it out). (Written by a mom Sometimes, it’s good to hear the other side of the story. Especially when it’s not someone in our family telling it!) “Four toys?” she suggests. www. “One,” I sigh. slouchingmom. “Two?” she bargains. com “Two,” I echo lamely; I’ve lost, and I know it. She buys four anyway. And when she presents them to my children, I eye her disapprovingly. In response, she shrugs. Contained in the shrug is this: I am their GRANDMOTHER; hear me roar. * When Ben is 2, she buys him a fire truck. It is two feet long and has a remote control, which, among other things, enables the ladder to extend to a height of 18 or so inches and then retract. The ladder pivots in all directions. The fire truck is for children 8 and up. I put it away, on a high shelf in the closet, where Ben won’t see it. * We are in Target with Ben’s and Jack’s grandfather. He says, “You know, I’d like to buy each of the boys a Nintendo DS.” He is within earshot of his grandsons, and, clever man, he knows it. Grandpa gets his wish. * They are a force of nature, grandparents. They have the upper hand, because they are still and always our parents. No matter that when we were young, what we heard most from them was “No,” or, worse, “Absolutely not.” Lately my mother’s been trying a new tactic. She buys the boys books. When I attempt to corral her largesse, she shoots me a withering look and proclaims, “A child can never have too many books.” Game, set, match. What wily creatures all of these grandmas and grandpas turn out to be! —Sarah Piazza Grandparents Raising Grandchildren http:// grandparenting. typepad.com A few days before [my granddaughter’s accident] I had a dream…. The dream started with me screaming at her to get back to me because she was not being safe. Once she was safely back to me, we had a strange type of journey that we took together, just the two of us. In the dream, I only wore army fatigues. In the dream as we journeyed to uncertain places, I knew that her needs would be met by strangers along our path. [Just] before her accident, I 66 GRAND JULY AUGUST 2008 told my husband that I [felt] something bad was about to happen. I did not know if it was going to be in a few days or a few months, but something bad would occur.… after her injury, the dream made total sense. The dream brought intrigue and also a sense of peace, since the essence of the dream was that even though the journey was uncertain, it was not frightening and the most important part was that it was very clear in the dream that my child’s needs would be met along the way. —Karen Best Wright http://www.slouchingmom.com http://www.blogher.com http://grandparenting.typepad.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Grand Magazine - July/August 2008

Grand Magazine - July/August 2008
Contents
Grand View: Love Is All That's Left
Isn't It Grand?: Reassessing the Postponed Life
Grand Central
Just So We Know: One Mixed-Up Lemon
Long-Distance Love: Cuttings
Ask Grand: Stuck on Stuff
Grand Gestures: "Thanks for the Ugly Gift"
Tips on Teens: All That Doesn't Meet the Eye
Live Long and Propser
On the Cover: Peter Yarrow
Presents of Mine
Thicker Than Water?
Reunions: White Water, White Knuckles
The Grand Gourmet
So We Are Not Alone
Looking Grand: Suit-Able
Grandbloggers: Why Watch TV When We Can Talk?
Grand Bazaar
Resources
Grand Finale: What Boat

Grand Magazine - July/August 2008