Where The Grandparents Ar
Soon after I
joined the 'grandpa' world I started to outline plots and write anecdotes and
vignettes that I kept separate from my other writings. The new file would be my stock of
ideas and outlines for read-aloud grandpa yarns and expanded to their intended
length as soon as grandchild was ready to listen. Meanwhile, I would background
a few of my plots with friends. It so happened that they passed the word and I
got invitations to 'chat' from neighborhood social groups and retirement communities.
During one of
my adult sessions a woman in the group remarked, ‘I’m a volunteer helper in a
class of first graders at (naming a nearby school.) I haven’t given it much
thought until now, but I’ve come to realize that some youngsters see their
grandparents regularly, others rarely, and still others see their grandparents
not at all. For a few, grandparents live too far away, and other youngsters
don’t know where their grandparents live or even if they have grandparents, but
saddest of all are the kids who don’t know what grandparents are.'
I've learned
over the years that grandparents and grandchildren are natural allies, but when
their homes are too far apart, or other barriers intervene, their alliance
weakens. Everybody loses, including the generation in the middle - the child's
parents.
Mike
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Christina Morrison on -
Mike -- You are so right! As a mother of 2 young boys, with the closest grandparent living 2.5 hours away, and the others in CA and FL. I try really hard to make sure my boys see their grandparents monthly. My Mom says often that the best times she has with the boys is when it's 1-1. They open up more to her when it's special 1-1 grandparent time. Plus, my husband and I love the free time without the boys. My neigbhor, who is a grandparent with grandkids in NY, are adopted grandparents to my boys. It's nice for all of us.
Keep enjoying those grandkids!
Christina -
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Permalink Reply by Meyer Moldeven on -
This morning, surfing online, I stumbled on the 1992 second edition of my self-published collection of 'grandpa' stories, title: A Grandpa's Notebook, subtitle: 'How to … Ideas and Stories to Encourage Grandparent-Grandchild Interaction, Communications and Well-being.' BTW, content of this post applies generally, whatever your ages happen to be. the book is and has links to just about 'everywhere that relate to where you are in the text : see:
http://everything2.com/index.pl?node=A+Grandpa%27s+Notebook&las...
The 1987 first edition, also self-published, is long gone, and I soon became impatient with the fuss and bother of preparing my 1992 update for printing, promoting and all that self-pub calls for. I dispensed with that part of the process. Back then, as an 'author' [hoo-hah], I was getting a fair number of invitations to give 'grandpa-style' talks at schools, public libraries, and other groups. I always had several copies of the book with me as handouts and that was more fun by far. This version applies to all ages.
Why do I write? Quoting: 'A vast store of practical knowledge as well as a culture's lore languishes in almost every family, especially among its elders, more than ready to be passed along to succeeding generations. An important source for ideas and models for grandparents to meet the needs-and the yearnings-of this era's grandchildren, and children generally, are in the observations and experiences of older adults. It is not up to our young grandchildren to say what in our life's experiences might be useful or enlightening to them? If it was up to them, how might they draw it out of us? A paradox indeed. –snip-
'This is not a child's storybook, although some of the stories, vignettes and essays may interest youth from toddlers to young adults and, from other perspectives, parents, grandparents, and teachers. The book's intent is to demonstrate one older lay person's approach to fostering interaction between generations in the context of family, school and culture.'
From the American Library Association journal BOOKLIST (November 15, 1987) ‘Moldeven, a 70-year old [now 93] grandfather turned author and publisher sets a wonderful example and shares many practical lessons on keeping in touch with grandchildren in these times of mobile families. When it is impossible to see or talk to grandchildren as often as one would like, Moldeven suggests writing them stories. His book offers general tips on getting started along with 25 sample stories.–snip-This encouraging, easy-to-read guide for grandparents (near and faraway) can also be used as a resource for senior citizen’s projects.'
The title is now in the public domain.
Mike Moldeven -
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