As this Grandma said in Part I, a dear long friend, who is becoming a grandma for the first time, asked me to give her my must reads for new grandmas from my archives. I wanted to give an idea of the varied content, from tips to gifts, to do’s and do not’s. There is […]
Archives Must Reads For New Grandparents. Part II What To Buy, From Equipment to Toys and Gifts
Stephen Fred Goldenberg AKA PopPop Obituary
For our children and grandchildren, PopPop’s obituary was published in the Sun Sentinel, Sunday, March 11, 2023. It will always be on the website www.legacy.com. Stephen Fred Goldenberg, age 76, passed away March 1, 2023, surrounded by loved ones in the comfort of his home, overlooking the ocean, his favorite view, exactly as he wanted. […]
Archives Must Reads For New Grandparents: Part I Grandma Lessons and Tips
A dear long friend, who is becoming a grandma for the first time, asked me to give her my must reads for new grandmas from my archives. I wanted to give an idea of the varied content, from tips to gifts, to do’s and do not’s. There is a search feature. I put in “newborn” […]
When We Boomers, Our Adult Children, and Our Grandchildren Too, Need A Movie Bathroom Break Without Missing Anything Significant in the Movie, There Is An App For That
My mother insists that she toilet trained me at six months. I told her she was trained and could not go anywhere. My mother demurred. Running the faucet in the sink was the key. Apparently, running water is now the trigger for me for life. After reading the article, “ ‘Avatar’ and The Way of […]
When As a Grandparent, You Are Asked If You Love The First Grandchild the Best
Blog.1.22.23. When As a Grandparent, You Are Asked If You Love The First Grandchild the Best Returning to Fort Lauderdale on Jet Blue, our preferred carrier between New York and Florida, a young father (and they are looking younger and younger to this Grandma) was walking up and down the aisle with an adorable baby […]
In Our Society, Most Teenagers and Preteens Have Seen Online Pornography, Hear Pornographic Lyrics, A Six Year Old Child Shot His Teacher, and That is Not The Worst of It
When my grandchildren are in the car with me, I always have Pop Hits I on Sirius. I want to relate to them and their music. . . or so I thought. My fifteen year old grandson and sixteen year old granddaughter were in the car with me when the new Nicki Minaj song, “Super […]
We Boomer Grandparents Should Consider Being Realistic About Pet Adoption and Include Our Fur Babies in Our Wills and/or Create a Pet Trust for Their Care Upon Our Disability or Death
When PopPop and I were ready to adopt two kittens, we were asked if we had plans for their care after our deaths as their life expectancy is twenty years or more. We did not consider this when we thought to bring these new family members into our home. We adopted two brothers from the […]
Truth, Like Beauty, Is In The Eye Of the Beholder And The Best Advice I Ever Received On How To Keep Your Truth To Yourself
I first started writing this blog because my Judicial Assistant, who became and is a dear long (we never say old) friend, was going to become a grandmother, and she wanted me to share the “grandma lessons” I had learned. It was not long after that, I realized another purpose for the blog was for […]
Why and How Instagram Taught Me To Search “Life Hacks” For Simple Solutions to Daily Tasks. Who Knew How Really Helpful Ice Cubes Can Be
Instagram taught me to search “Life Hacks” on Google for simple solutions to daily tasks! Instagram is an application (app) that my preteen grandchild insisted I must have on my I Phone. A free social media platform, Instagram is for sharing photos and videos with your “followers” and to view photos and videos posted by […]
Please Do Not Wait To Tell Your Loved Ones What They Mean to You
We grandparents are at the age when it is getting harder to say we are young. When age 80 is closer than I want to admit, although I work at looking younger and perceive otherwise, others will not see me as young as I would like to see myself. Who is that face in the […]
For the New Year 2023, How Do Grandparents Measure the Year
“Seasons of Love,” the song from the award winning Broadway play, “Rent,” starts out: “five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes. How do you measure, measure a year?” Having just lost two friends in as many weeks, at this moment, being very philosophical, I think we grandparents measure a year by one that gives […]
Should I Be The Grandma on the Floor No More
One of the absolute best tips I received as a new grandma almost two decades ago was to always be the grandma on the floor. Of course, I asked what that meant. My friend explained that to really connect with your grandchild, you really have to spend all your time on the floor–at their level. […]
The Five Most Important Reasons Why and When NOT To Put Wedding and Family Photographs Away When The Parents of Our Grandchildren Get Divorced
I have addressed this issue before, and seems that it is time to address it again. Sometimes simple answers do not provide a complete answer to a question. In the May 18, 2021, Washington Post, Ms. Manners answered the following question at the end of her advice column: “Dear Miss Manners: When your child gets […]
Sneakerheads, Hypebeasts, and Other Groups Are New to Boomers But AntiSemitism is the Oldest Prejudice That Has Now Again Infiltrated Our American Culture
You know you are longer (we never say older) when some words your eleven year old grandson introduces you to and tries to explain are the subject of an article more than eight years old from 2014! “Sneakernomics: Are Sneakerheads important?” by Matt Powell, Forbes Magazine, May 21, 2014. Matt Powell defines sneakerheads: “A formal […]
How To Make Candy Coated Cake Pops Like Those Found at Starbucks At Home With or For Grandchildren
It is dangerous to take grandchildren into Starbucks. These little balls of cake with frosting and sprinkles on a stick like a lollipop are a sweet target for them. At this link, read about how Starbucks teamed up with a company to supply their cake pops since 2010. At nearly $2 (and 165 calories each), […]
Warmable Stuffed Animals For Babies, Children, Ill and Infirm, and More, Oh My. This Grandma’s Successful Search for the Perfect Teddy Bear for the Perfect Four Year Old Grandson
Our adorable four year old grandson’s teddy bear got eaten by the dog. I know we hear this excuse of “eaten by the dog” but he was so sincere and, of course, wanted this Grandma to replace it. So, no ordinary stuffed animal will do. I wanted to find something special and went on the […]
The Six Episodes of A Real Marriage of Movie Icons Paul Newman and JoAnn Woodward Will Provide Insight That Can Improve Your Own Relationship
As a family court judge, I served to dissolve tens of thousands of marriages over twenty years. Ethan Hawke (I had heard of him but knew little of his talents) shows us, in six episodes streaming on HBO Max, “The Last Movie Stars,” a documentary of a real long term marriage of fifty years that […]
To Text, Message, Contact, “Like,” Just Because You Are Thinking of Someone Improves the Quality of Your Life, Especially for Boomers
COVID has necessarily caused us to be distant. Even now when I bump into someone in public who I have not seen in a while who I normally would have greeted warmly, I instinctively put my hand up if they reach to come closer. I don’t even “air kiss” those I might have before COVID. […]
What Day(s) of the Week and What Time(s) Can I Leave My House To Most Likely Avoid A Mass Shooting in 2022
What is safety in 2022? Safety enough to go to the local supermarket….or a local July 4th parade in a suburb with not a single murder from 2000 to 2020? See, “Highland Park Was Meant to be Chicago’s ‘Mayberry,’” by Ellen Almer Durston, Campbell Robertson and Dan Simmons, New York Times, July 6, 2022. This […]