February 17, 2021

How to Be Present: a 'First-Time Grandmother's Journal' excerpt

February 17, 2021/ Lisa Carpenter

In my book, The First-Time Grandmother’s Journal, I offer writing prompts to help new grandmothers dig deep then capture their thoughts on matters that matter in the months leading up to a first grandchild’s birth and the child’s first year.

I also provide bits of advice to help new grandmas navigate their new role—advice even seasoned grandmas can appreciate and apply—such as the following two-page spread on being present.

November 20, 2020

Stand Up to Bullying, Grandma Style

November 20, 2020/ Lisa Carpenter

A guest post for International Stand Up to Bullying Day, by Neve Spicer of WeTheParents.org.

Grandmas are great teachers. They have the experience and the time to help in raising good kids. When it comes to potential bullying behavior, you want them to think about what they have done and eventually realize it makes them the bad guy, not the hero.

Today, November 20, is International Stand Up to Bullying Day. Make the day meaningful in your grandkid’s lives.

November 13, 2020

How to be the best babysitting grandparent ever

November 13, 2020/ Lisa Carpenter

Kids just want to have fun, especially when spending time with a babysitter. Parents primarily want their kids to be safe. And therein lies the challenge for grandparents who have secured the babysitting gig: finding the perfect balance between delighting grandchildren while pleasing their parents.

Master the challenge—and be the best babysitter ever—by considering the following tips.

November 06, 2020

Gifts for grandkids: 7 gift giving no-nos

November 06, 2020/ Lisa Carpenter

The Christmas my middle daughter was about 4 years old, she received the most adorable, soft-bodied baby doll. We called it “Laughing Baby,” because when the doll’s tummy was pressed, she’d let loose an infectious giggle that would set my daughter into giggle fits galore. It was precious—the first 320 times. Then it was simply obnoxious and in need of silencing.

October 30, 2020

11+ things grandmas do when no one else wants to or can (2020 edition)

October 30, 2020/ Lisa Carpenter

Several years ago I wrote a post on things grandmas do when others won’t. Upon publishing that, many experienced grandmas commented with additional tasks to add to the list.

I’ve intended to update that post to include those comments for quite some time and have simply never gotten around to it. But considering the amount of spare time Covid restrictions have afforded most of us, I’ve finally done it.

September 19, 2019

Six blessings of my dog's senior status

September 19, 2019/ Lisa Carpenter

Our dog is getting old. Depending on the chart used, Mickey — the pit-pointer we rescued at six weeks old — has reached senior status, hovering anywhere around 80 years old to 93 or so.

Mickey’s advanced age is obvious in myriad ways. The bold brown coloring on his face has gone gray, he has trouble on stairs, he sleeps much of the time, he rarely gets excited about even his once most favorite things … including squirrels needing his exuberant escorting out of the yard and …

August 29, 2019

School papers and similarly sentimental stuff

August 29, 2019/ Lisa Carpenter

During my daughters’ school years, I kept all the papers and projects they brought home from school. Everything. Spelling tests, stories, handwriting practice (they did that back then), certificates earned for field day and perfect attendance, report cards for each quarter of each year.

I kept it all. Times three. All in cardboard boxes in a storage space beneath the house we lived in for the duration of the girls’ school years. Lots of …

January 10, 2018

7 significant BEs of being a significant grandmother

January 10, 2018/ Lisa Carpenter

BE unconditional

Grandchildren come in assorted shapes, sizes, aptitudes, attitudes, with varied qualities and quirks. Love them because of those, regardless of those, in spite of those.

BE fair

Wherever two or more grandkids gather or grow, possibilities for playing favorites flourish. Avoid the all-too-human temptation to...

January 04, 2018

5 right moves I made (more often but not always) in 2017

January 04, 2018/ Lisa Carpenter

Like many people, in the waning days of 2017 and the first fresh few of 2018, I pondered the past twelve months in consideration of what I could do to improve the next twelve.

And, like most people, the negative events and actions that I personally experienced or had a hand in marking upon my days stood out most. My failures, foibles, moments of weakness, madness, self-interest, and paralyzing procrastination. Positive considerations were quickly, nearly completely, canceled out by the negative.

Now, being a Negative Nancy isn't my overall nature, yet it is human nature to recall...

November 01, 2017

An open letter to new long-distance grandmas

November 01, 2017/ Lisa Carpenter

Dear heartbroken long-distance grandma,

First, let me say congratulations on your grandma status! Whether you just learned you'd soon have a grandchild, a newborn grand recently arrived, or one or more grandkiddos have long been part of your heart, you are a grandmother and that's worth celebrating... again and again.

Today, though, I offer my condolences that your grandmother status carries, or soon will, the long-distance modifier. I know how hard that is on you. I know because I am you — a long-distance grandma.

I've been a long-distance grandma a while, with hundreds of miles separating me from my sweet ones ever since the initial "You're going to be a grandma!" announcement nearly ten years ago. Considering the survival strategies I've learned the hard way...