Nana Practices Tricky Maneuvers

Being a Nana these days is tricky. Once, grandparents were asked for their advice on how to raise a child, but now members of the “younger generation” tend to turn to their peers; and it is important to accept that choice—no matter how frustrating it is to repress the urge to offer well-intentioned guidance. On…

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Getting Old is Heaven

As she moved into her mid-seventies, my Nana began to say: “getting old is hell.” And when my father reached the same point, he was wont to declare: “just take me out in the backyard and shoot me.” Both of them were pivotal people in my life, providing love, wisdom and stability over the course…

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Paws into the Honeypot

You may recall that in my last letter I wrote of my upcoming visit with my younger son and his wife and my two little grandsons. Because of COVID restrictions, I had never met the littlest, who is now a robust seven months old, nor had I seen the three-and-a-half-year-old or even my son or…

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Our Motionless March

On March 30th, joy arrived in my house with a phone call: my second grandson had just been born in New York City. The photos my son then sent showed me what a beauty he is, only six and a half pounds, with a full head of dark hair. I am greatly relieved, as well,…

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Museums and Mekking Eggs

Doesn’t everyone think their grandchildren are the very best ones around?  Of course, my own grandson is truly amazing. At twenty-one months, his vocabulary is something of a shock: he is able to attach names to objects and emotions rather than simply repeating them all back to me like a parrot who doesn’t know what it is…

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The Bounty Of Family

What a joyous holiday our family had this Thanksgiving just past–four full days of wonder. Here is my little grandson, who sat at Nana’s holiday table for the first time, built trucks and trains and Duplo houses with me, went hand-in-hand to the playground, and drifted off to his parents singing my childhood lullaby. And now onward, into…

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Walking A New Road

Naturally enough, every year when Father’s Day comes around, I am reminded of my Dad. He belonged to a generation of men who smoked in the hospital waiting room while their wives delivered babies by themselves, men who would never change a diaper or be a Girl Scout Cookie Mom. How different my father was.…

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Sandwiched Between Chaos And Delight

Our trip over President’s Day weekend to visit my son, daughter-in-law and six-month-old grandson did not begin auspiciously. Before we even arrived in New York, our brand-new dog sitter phoned to tell us that, while she was throwing the ball in the rec room for fetch–crazy Mac, (our youngest Dal), had crashed into the wine…

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