The Grand Life: Wholehearted Grandparenting

Emily and Mike share ideas from fans of the podcast on giving gifts for grandchildren at the holidays. We also talk with a charter sailing captain about the idea of giving your grands experiences, especially ones that include you. Our guest is Captain Robert of 757 Sailing Charters on the Virginia coast. For more on gifts for grands, check out these two previous episodes of our podcast:--"Enough is as Good as a Feast," about the cost tradeoffs between buying and shipping--"Overbuying," exploring why we're tempted to spend too muchSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A lifetime of stuff can be a challenge to pass on, throw out, or leave behind as a burden to your family. Emily and Mike welcome Stephanie Denson, an organization consultant who helps people work through those lifetime accumulations. Learn more about her work at https://www.spiritandspacellc.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Talking about family, with family, can get tricky. Triangulation happens when three are in the conversation--and while it's not always a bad thing, it certainly can be. Psychologist Dr. Emily Williams helps us navigate this choppy sea. Find out more about our guest and her practice here. More Than Grand (affiliate link) can help you build great, enduring bonds with your grands and their parents (who are essential to your success!) Use the coupon code GRANDLIFE to save 10% off your order.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Social anthropologist Dr. Lynsey Farrell talks with Emily and Mike about how grandmothers can be a powerful force for multigenerational change, based on work she did in Africa and resources from her Grandmother Collective.  RESOURCES Lynsey's site is https://www.grandmothercollective.org/ Mentioned: Marc Freedman, "How To Live Forever: The Enduring Power of Connecting the Generations." See https://www.amazon.com/How-Live-Forever-Connecting-Generations/dp/1541767810 Freedman's company is https://cogenerate.org/.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Emily and Mike recap their extended grand-sitting gig with a charming, challenging toddler. Spoiler: everyone survived.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Capture your family history from those who lived it, before it's too late. Emily interviews Dr. Elizabeth Keating, author of The Essential Questions: Interview Your Family to Uncover Stories and Bridge Generations. Her book is available here and at other bookstores and online sources.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Most of our grands love stories, don't they? Listening Pond is a podcast full of stories "for kids and their adults," says Asa Gauen, co-creator of this series of fanciful stories in a podcast you can share with your grands.  "Dragons Are Always Lucky" and its cover art appear courtesy of Listening Pond. Find it on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and on other podcatchers.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"It takes a village" to raise kids, and we are becoming that village for our toddler grandson while his parents take a long vacation. And how do we feel about this awesome responsibility? Mixed.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Emily and Mike dig into two risks from the cyberworld that impact grandparents. One is how you use it to share about your grands...and the other is how it uses you, when the bad guys get help from Artificial Intelligence. These were mentioned in the episode, if you'd like to learn more: July 1, 2019 “Facebook Fail” The Grand Life Podcast S1E7 Kate Lindsay, “The First Social-Media Babies Are Growing Up—And They’re Horrified” The Atlantic web, 5/23/23 (may require subscription) Sharyn Alfonsi, “How con artists use AI, Apps, social engineering to target parents, grandparents for theft.” 60 Minutes 5/21/2023 Christina Ianzito, “Chatbots and Voice-Cloning Fuel Rise in AI-Powered Scams,” AARP.Com, April 17, 2023.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Being a mindful grandparent is the expertise of author and educator Shirley Showalter, who returns with big ideas from her latest book, The Mindful Grandparent, written with Marilyn McEntire and available online here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Emily and Mike have made it out and back on a test visit up the East Coast to grandkids and an aging parent, relying on mass transit on wheels, not wings. It was a revelation, an education, and a confirmation. Hear what they learned in this "field report" on their big test run.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From their new home served by an Amtrak line, Mike and Emily plan a train trip to visit grands--which reminds them of an episode about toy trains as a way to bond with grandchildren. Their guest, Mr. Muffin, has a YouTube channel, "Mr. Muffin's Trains," where you can see his amazing collection of O-gauge model trains.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Emily and Mike take their own guests' advice in this rewind to a 2020 episode about what they just did: relocate to be near grands! The advice they gave us was good then. Now it's way more real.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Moving Day has left its mark, so Emily and Mike provide a report on their relocation. Also we revisit part of an episode about being in "the room where it happens:" the Delivery Room when a grandchild is born. Inside the room our outside it, this also leaves a mark. SHOW NOTES Here are details on our guests in this episode: Midwife Mairi Breen Rothman is part of a group practice,  http://mamasmidwives.com. They have a Facebook page, MAMASMidwives. If you'd like to see Mairi in action, Voice of America produced a 28-minute documentary film about her and the topic of home birth at https://www.voanews.com/a/4671481.html.  The Grand Life spoke with Dr. Becky Haak just after she returned from medical missionary work in Mozambique. See https://www.samaritanspurse.org/article/emergency-field-hospital-opens-expanding-medical-care-in-mozambique/ .See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If perhaps you forgot about our episode on remembering and forgetting, we'll help you! While our podcast studio is still out of commission, here's a "rewind" to this Season 4 interview with a neurologist and a psychologist who give us some hope about our aging brains. Dr. Francine Toder's book is "The Vintage Years: Finding Your Inner Artist (Writer, Musician, Visual Artist) After Sixty." She also has a website, doctoder.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While our studio is out of commission for a few weeks, we're inviting listeners of The Grand Life to revisit an episode about the talk all families need to have if guns are kept where kids might discover them.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Many grandparents hope their children and grands will adopt their faith tradition and carry it generationally forward. Author Richard Olson offers trends and suggestions in his book The Grandparent Vocation: Wisdom, Legacies, and Spiritual Growth, and in this episode, Emily and Mike invite his wisdom and advice for you. His book is available at the link above from the publisher, and online.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Emily and Mike reconnect with Dr. Kerry Byrne, founder of The Long-Distance Grandparent, a resource with research and ideas to keep relationships with grands vibrant and healthy, including a special message they need to hear from you. Kerry has a title for you: Grand Encouragement Officer. (That's a hint at the message.) We have a special request: call us at ‪(317) 572-7876 and talk to us about about sharing your faith with your grands. Have you? How did you go about it? In hindsight, good idea or bad? It's for our March 24 episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bonding with your grandchildren over music is such a joy. Music as one part of a multisensory experience is the subject of this conversation with composer/pianist Murray Hidary, who advocates for the connectedness that music can produce. Murray's performance experiences are explained (and his concert schedule) is at www.mindtravel.com, and his free coloring/drawing meditation booklet is here. His schedule of upcoming virtual live experiences is here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Grandpa Grace is smelling the roses in this week's photo, provided by Aaron Larsen, the guest on this episode. His grandparents were his housemates for a time, and they are what's behind his Grandparents Academy. Aaron's portfolio of resources is below. Website: https://www.grandparentsacademy.comCourse Catalog: https://www.grandparentsacademy.com/catalogFree Weekly Activity Download: https://training.grandparentsacademy.com/resourceFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/grandparentsacademyInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/grandparentsacademyGrandparents Week: www.grandparentsweek.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.