by Marlene Bumgarner | Apr 20, 2015 | Aging, Community, Family, Grandparenting
As I ate my breakfast granola one morning last week, a Today Show host read from her teleprompter: “New research tells us that since life expectancy continues to rise, age 60 should no longer be considered old. Sixty is the new 40.” A simple statement, one that...
by Marlene Bumgarner | Apr 13, 2015 | Community, Family, Grandparenting
When I was about eight, my parents spent a weekend helping some friends prepare their family farm for an estate sale. While the adults sorted, stacked, and scoured, the children were left to roam free. I remember climbing into a hay loft that first day, eating my fill...
by Marlene Bumgarner | Apr 6, 2015 | Family, Grandparenting
In 1975 our friend Nina came to live with us. At the time we were farming a piece of rural land along with a handful of friends, and Nina was looking for the peace and quiet we had in quantity. She settled in quickly, and soon was growing a vegetable patch,...
by Marlene Bumgarner | Apr 4, 2015 | Cooking and Eating, Family, Grandparenting
I love Spring, and when I was growing up, Easter was the big spring celebration in our house. Even when money was tight, I always had new shoes and a new dress (When we lived on Aunt Sadie’s chicken ranch, it was made from a flowered cotton feed sack, and my...
by Marlene Bumgarner | Mar 30, 2015 | Community, Family, Grandparenting
I don’t write for children, but I love reading to children. Last week I attended an event sponsored by Delta Kappa Gamma, an international organization that supports the professional and personal growth of women educators and excellence in education. The event...
by Marlene Bumgarner | Mar 2, 2015 | Family, Grandparenting
Two weeks ago Bean and I walked out the door of my house and scootered and walked a mile to the edge of the beach. Last week she arrived requesting to spend the afternoon at the beach, so we packed the car with buckets and snacks and spent three hours dodging the...