The Grand Life: Wholehearted Grandparenting

In the conclusion of the series on aging, host Emily Morgan talks with filmmaker Dana Glaser, who has written and directed A Case of Blue, a story of an aging man who contemplates a series of second chances and finds a clearer view of himself in the process. (Photo: Tom Hussey) EPISODE NOTES Our extraordiary cover art for this episode comes from a photo series about reflecting on our younger selves by Dallas photographer Tom Hussey. See the series at tomhussey.com. Dana's movie is...

Continuing on the topic of aging, Emily explores what grandparents can to to keep their minds working well, well into our later years. Her guest is Dr. Leslie Kernisan, a geritrician whose website Better Health While Aging, is all about doing all we can do, so we can keep doing all that we are able, for as long as we can. (https://betterhealthwhileaging.net) EPISODE NOTES Dr. Leslie mentions an article on her site that covers medications that may impair brain function as a side effect:...

Emily talks with a neurologist and a psychologist about why our brain works the way it works (or doesn’t work, sometimes!) and then what hope we can find in the science behind aging. EPISODE NOTES 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.

Did your grandparents have style? Emily asked her guests in Season 4 to recall what defined the styles they remember defining their own grandparents. Also, Emily invites Mike (husband and producer) to preview upcoming topics we'll cover in the rest of this season of The Grand Life.

Emily sits down with New York Times columnist Paula Span, who has taken her reporting on aging and grandparenting and mixed it with her own experiences as a new grandmother (or Bubbe, as it is in Yiddish). The result is a fun new audiobook that shares what she's learned from a bunch of smart people, including her granddaughter. Paula's audiobook The Bubbe Diaries is available on Audible. Her columns for the New York Times are called "Generation Grandparent."

Can you start grandparenting before the birth? Absolutely, says Emily's guest Gail Root. She is a student, teacher, and advocate for practices both past and present that acknowledge a pre-born baby's ability to connect with the outside (the womb) world. Also, a check-in on a new web resource for first-time grandparents. SHOW NOTES Emily's guest, Gail Root, counsels new grandparents at her web site Root and Wings Parent Coaching. DeeDee's website, More Than Grand, has released New...

Your relationship with your grands may allow you to spot problems before distracted parents may notice them. Emily talks with author Richard Capriola, who focuses on teens with addictions and gives advice to grandparents who may uncover or suspect addictions or abuse. EPISODE NOTES Richard's book is The Addicted Child: A Parent's Guide to Adolescent Substance Abuse. Emily also mentioned Fern Schumer Chapman's new book on sibling estrangement. If you'd like to learn more about the issues...

Emily wraps up the third episode on "the power of stories" with a chat with an executive from Scholastic, Inc.--the source of all those books sold to grade-school students from newsletters and book fairs. Their conversation took place just before World Read-Aloud Day, which framed their talk about grandparents reading aloud to their grands. THE STRETCH IT TAKES (Emily's Essay): The Genetics of Reading When I visited the home of my maternal grandparents, I don’t remember seeing a book in...

Continuing the theme from last episode, Emily speaks with a 93-year-old grandfather, author, and active advocate of capturing and then "unleashing" grandparent stories. His creative partner in their website adds helpful details about a program that helps grands become powerful and prolific story-makers. SHOW NOTES Jerry and Deanna's website is grandparentsunleashed.com, and Jerry's book is The Grandest Love, available here.

How well do your grands know your story? Emily travels (virtually) to Trinidad to speak with Felicia Chang, a professional in the area of capturing the personal stories of our families, with a special emphasis our elders. Your story has worth and power...and is of priceless value to your grands. EPISODE NOTES Felicia Chang's TEDx Talk about how the stories of our loved ones connect us all is here. Her business has a web site and a Facebook page. This is Felicia with her dear grandmother,...

Continuing last episode's theme, this time Emily talks with a grandparent in the US and a parent in France whose extended relationships span oceans, languages, and cultures. Adventure seasoned with selflessness is the recipe. THE STRETCH IT TAKES (Emily's essay) “We’re moving to Brussels.” Those words shocked me even though I was twenty-one, living in my own apartment and working on my graduate degree. My parents called from NH to inform me that my dad had taken a job in Belgium. “Where is...

Back in Season 2, we did an episode on Long-Distance Grandparenting which proved to be a popular subject. When the distances are really long--international--you'd think it would be harder. The pandemic has made distance less of a factor that it once was, so experienced global grandparents can teach lessons almost all of us can apply. EPISODE SHOW NOTES Learn more about Emily's guest, author Helen Ellis, at https://www.distancefamilies.com. Her book will be out in April, 2021.

Some grandparents have the time, talent, and access to become directly involved with their grands' education. Emily talks with two grandparents and a teacher who have done or seen this firsthand, which may give you ideas on how to approach this in your extended family. SHOW NOTE Learn more about Emily's third guest, Sandra Williams, from her website and her book, Lullabelle and Friends' Parent Guide.

Grandparents can play a range of roles in their grands' education. In Part 1 on this topic, Emily talks with a retired teacher whose journey through racial segregation in the 1950s shaped her commitment to supporting the schooling of her descendants. Emily's essay is a revealing self-portrait of a third grader, a pen pal, and a missed opportunity Emily's guest Kaaren Rodman provides details on her family's scholarship: "Our family has set up a scholarship that is awarded through the...

The centerpiece of this episode is Emily's interview with best-selling author Barbara Graham, who has written about the collected experiences of gifted and famous grandmothers. There are lessons to be learned from her work... and from Emily's essay about loving our grands well with the time we find. Learn more about Emily's guest and her work at barbaragrahamonline.com. The Stretch It Takes: Competing With Time (Emily's Essay) If there’s one thing that this pandemic has taught me, it’s...

To begin Season 4, Emily talks with two members of her network on how to put our love for our grands into action--with purpose, and intentionality, and clever ideas. The payoff is a richer relationship, even when it's largely a long-distance one. To learn more about our two guests visit The Long Distance Grandparent and More than Grand.

While we take a break between seasons of The Grand Life Podcast, we're inviting host Emily Morgan to the guest's chair for a change. With husband and producer Mike, she covers choosing content, finding guests, and balancing the living of The Grand Life with her podcasting about it.

Sometimes a mistake leads to an opportunity.

Guests from Season 3 of the podcast share memories of their grandparent's work and careers--tagging along to work with them, and being shaped by their jobs and their work ethic. Emily also interviews a grandmother who's a business-executive-turned-filmmaker. EPISODE SHOW NOTES Emily's guest has produced Beyond Sixty Project, a new documentary film. Learn more here. THE STRETCH IT TAKES (essay) We have a black and white picture of my grandfather’s business prominently displayed in our...

Being a parent of teenagers is a challenge you have to experience to appreciate. When we grandparent teens, our wisdom and experience should make us better at it... but do they? Emily talks with a teen, two parents, and a grandparent to explore this dynamic, which is both familiar and new all at once. The Stretch It Takes is a guest essay from grandma and business consultant Pamela Dennis. EPISODE NOTES Grandma Judy's help and ideas on grandparent camps is at...