Growing Up is so Overrated, and I’m not about to do it!

Photo by Edu Carvalho from Pexels

After dawning my super-powerful, diamond-crusted Grammie cape, I checked my eye makeup one more time before adjusting my mask and spraying one final mist of liquid glue to my curls. Despite the fact my first grandson, Bo, had a new name for me (Old Grandma) I was determined to not then, not ever, show my age. So out the door I ran to monitor the afternoon play on the cul-de-sac.

Life in a neighborhood filled with small children is busy. There are balls […]

By Example, Not Words

As I drove home from the grocery store with my two-and-half-year-old grandson, Bo, I notice the five-year-old neighbor down the street running after our car. Delighted to see one of the kiddos on the block, Bo screamed with delight, “Stevie! Stevie! Grammie, look, there’s Stevie.”

Now, I know most grandparents think their grandchildren are prodigies, and I’m no different. While Bo is still considered a toddler, he is way beyond his years in speech and critical thinking. Having a conversation with him is not only […]

The Most Intimate Moment

Studying the woman at the bar, I was shocked she’d ask me such a personal question. After all, we’d just met. I was waiting for my girlfriend to arrive at the Los Altos Grill when this stranger plopped herself on the barstool next to mine. And, as women do, we began to chat about kids, being single parents, and making it in this world without a partner. We barely got to exchanging names when she hit me with a zinger.

“When was the last time […]

The Genius in all of Us

My baby girl, Lauren, is now a mother to two small boys herself. Walking into her house a few weeks ago, I was immediately greeted by my two-year-old grandson, Bo. “Grammie, come see, come see!” he squealed, leading me to a beautiful wooden creche Omu, his paternal grandmother, had sent him. Taking my hand in his tiny one, he began introducing me to all the statues.

“That’s Meree, that’s the daddy, these guys take care of the sheep, and that’s an angel,” he announced, pointing […]

Developing New Habits

In my youth, I saw a cartoon of a woman sitting on a couch explaining to her husband why she hadn’t done anything all day. Her excuse was she was depressed and didn’t know why. The parody was related to that age-old excuse: a woman’s cycle. Since I can’t use that same pretext for my current doldrums (my plumbing dried up years ago), I can blame Covid-19—and blame I will!

The pain of this pandemic—with its lockdowns, broken economy, and all the precautions we must […]

For Both of Us

Time with author’s grandsons

Long ago, Betty Davis said, “Old age ain’t no place for sissies.” I remember giggling when I first heard it, but now I understand how true that statement is. Despite feeling thirty-five in my mind, my body begs to differ as I struggle to move, joints riddled with arthritis. Before slowly crawling out of bed each morning, I first must stretch my limbs in all directions. Only then can I make it to the bathroom in a timely manner.

But recently, I […]