Dear Reader, What do you remember about your grandparents’ home? When I think back to my childhood, I remember the smells: eucalyptus trees, furniture polish, and my grandmother’s perfume. I remember the feeling of sinking into the down-filled cushions of the pink velvet couch. I remember the taste of vanilla yogurt and tea with honey. Their house wasn’t cozy, but it always felt like an adventure to be there. So many of our childhood memories revolve around the senses. Our grandchildren’s...
about 8 hours ago • 1 min read
Hello, Reader! If you’ve been getting the Holiday Harmony Challenge emails, you read about the grandmother who spent way too much money on an elaborate gingerbread house kit, only to have her grandchildren lose interest after just a few minutes. I loved the lesson behind this story, because it’s something we too often forget when we are thinking of ways to delight our grandchildren. One grandmother responded to tell me that she’d spent a week thinking about a pumpkin-decorating activity with...
14 days ago • 2 min read
There are some days when I think I'm going to die from an overdose of satisfaction. ~Salvador Dali Each Saturday, we send you a roundup of articles and resources that will help you be a better grandparent. We may receive a commission for purchases made through affiliate links in this email. This is an easy and much appreciated way for you to support More Than Grand! Growing as a Grandparent Feeling uncertain about how the holidays will go as a grandparent? Click here to join our FREE 7-Day...
25 days ago • 1 min read
Dear Reader, I don’t have many bad dreams, but I do have a recurring Christmas nightmare. I have it every year without fail. In the dream, it’s late on Christmas Eve, and I suddenly realize I haven’t bought or wrapped any stocking stuffers. I race to the only open store, which is always the Sav-on Drugs of my childhood, and buy random items to fill stockings for all my children. I always wake up in a panic. And then, every year, I realize I still have plenty of time, and I start to get...
28 days ago • 1 min read
Dear Reader, When I started More Than Grand, my goal was to help new grandparents better understand and support parents. I wanted to share the research on new baby care and safety, illuminate new parenting trends, and provide ideas for how to be helpful. I wanted to remind them to try to see things through the eyes of struggling parents, so that they could support them in the ways they need. I believed that by doing this, I could help families become closer and stronger. But as I attracted...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Grandchildren are God's way of compensating us for growing old. ~ Mary H. Waldrip Each Saturday, we send you a roundup of articles and resources that will help you be a better grandparent. We may receive a commission for purchases made through affiliate links in this email. This is an easy and much appreciated way for you to support More Than Grand! Growing as a Grandparent A meaningful apology is one of the most powerful relationship tools we have, and also one that’s sometimes hard to get...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Hello, Reader! I just ended a visit with my grandchildren on such a high note that I had to share it with you. It wasn’t because of the time we spent together—though it was one of our best visits yet for quality time. It was actually something that happened after I left. I got the idea several years ago from Kerry Byrne of The Long Distance Grandparent. It’s something I mean to do with every visit, but I rarely find the time to make it happen. But this visit, Pops and I had a few hours before...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Consider instead that along with being caretakers, we are role models, teachers, historians, storytellers, confidants, mentors, and most importantly, trusted examples of how to love and be loved. ~ Marianne Waggoner Day Each Saturday, we send you a roundup of articles and resources that will help you be a better grandparent. We may receive a commission for purchases made through affiliate links in this email. This is an easy and much appreciated way for you to support More Than Grand! Growing...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
What a bargain grandchildren are! I give them my loose change, and they give me a million dollars' worth of pleasure.~ Gene Perret Each Saturday, we send you a roundup of articles and resources that will help you be a better grandparent. We may receive a commission for purchases made through affiliate links in this email. This is an easy and much appreciated way for you to support More Than Grand! Growing as a Grandparent DeeDee will be talking about "What Today's Parents Wish Every...
2 months ago • 2 min read
Dear Reader, Last week I had the extraordinary privilege of helping to take care of my nephew's twins for the better part of three days. It was completely unexpected: I was visiting my mother when one of my sisters sent out an SOS to the other four of us. The twins' daycare was closed for the week (a scheduled closure), and my nephew's mother-in-law had volunteered to take care of them. But she'd ended up in the ER with heart trouble and would be out of commission for at least a week. Their...
3 months ago • 1 min read