Grandparenting

Julia Sneden writes: The name Grandabbie was my own invention. Before she came to live with us, my mother’s mother lived next door to a lively band of six nieces and nephews who called her Aunt Abbie. One day I referred to my Grandmother as Aunt Abbie, whereat several of them pounced on me. "She’s not your aunt. You can’t call her Aunt Abbie," said another. I remember feeling crushed, but I don’t remember how I came up with the solution of combining Grandmother and Abbie into what was to become her label for life. She used to tell me: "All my life, I looked forward to being called Grandmother. It’s a beautiful word. But then," she would sigh, "I hadn’t reckoned with you." more »

Julia Sneden writes: Children need to be assured that they are their own persons, no matter how much they look like someone from the past. It’s entirely possible that personality types are inherited as easily as the shape and color of eyes, but unlike the physical traits, personality is surely influenced by the nurturing dynamics of each immediate family. It seems to me that those dynamics create what we call character. more »

I’m here at the White House today because I want to make a difference and I hope you will join me. My name is Francine Wheeler. My husband David is with me. We live in Sandy Hook, Connecticut. David and I have two sons. Our older son Nate, soon to be 10 years old, is a fourth grader at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Our younger son, Ben, age six, was murdered in his first-grade classroom on December 14th, exactly 4 months ago this weekend. more »

Julia Sneden writes: I recall that in each instance of our children’s disasters, I held up pretty well until we had gotten to the hospital. As soon as the doctor took over, however, I had to sit down quickly and put my head between my knees. Injuries to sons are not high on my list of good memories. Now that they are grown, I breathe a sigh of relief – or at least I did until I glanced at the youngest’s Facebook page the other day. more »