by Marlene Bumgarner | Jul 11, 2022 | Aging, Community, Family
Starting Over – Again I am so grateful for all the readers who responded to my last post, some by private email. So many suggestions for how to fill the hole left when I was no longer taking daily care of my infant granddaughter. By far the most common, and...
by Marlene Bumgarner | Jun 25, 2022 | Aging, Child development, Family, Grandparenting
Saying Goodbye to my Granddaughter One might ask – what is there to grieve about? No one has died. No one is even sick – this week – thank heavens. No one has abandoned me. But I’m grieving just the same. My daily care of baby Brighton, my...
by Marlene Bumgarner | May 18, 2022 | Aging, COVID19, Family, Writing
Journaling as Therapy During the months of Shelter in Place, many of us turned to gardening, baking, or writing to help us stay focused and grounded. I have done all of those things, but mostly I write. Writing is how I make meaning out of seemingly meaningless...
by Marlene Bumgarner | Mar 27, 2022 | Aging, Child development, Community, Family, Grandparenting
A New Grandchild My first thought when my oldest daughter told me she was expecting my first grandchild was “at last!” I was sixty-four years old, with four adult children more focused on their careers than on starting families. Most of my friends were already...
by Marlene Bumgarner | Jan 29, 2022 | Aging, COVID19, Family, Grandparenting
A Break from Sheltering in Place Christmas 2020 I spent two weeks at my son’s home in southern California. We had taken all the precautions. Everyone tested negative. The gardener and the housekeeper were given two weeks off. I drove door to door with only one...