by Marlene Bumgarner | May 26, 2015 | Family, Grandparenting
Into Every Life a Little Rain Must Fall Most families experience some drama from time to time, and ours is no exception. The family dog eats a prescription pill bottle, pills and all; the plumbing fails; a fence falls down; termites swarm in the living room. ...
by Marlene Bumgarner | May 18, 2015 | Aging, Community, Family, Grandparenting
Grandma, Grandma, Grandma! Occasionally I collect my granddaughter from preschool. Last week when I entered the play yard, Bean saw me from the other side of the climbing equipment. She ran all the way around it, arms held out wide, shouting “Grandma! Grandma!...
by Marlene Bumgarner | May 4, 2015 | Aging, Community, Family, Grandparenting
When I purchased my sweet little house in Santa Cruz, it came with a waterfall and a pond. That summer I experienced the joy of falling asleep to the peaceful sound of falling water. In time, though, the pond became green with algae and began to need regular...
by Marlene Bumgarner | Apr 27, 2015 | Family, Grandparenting
Four Year Old Bean was having trouble transitioning from Mommy to Grandma, and after a tearful good bye, three hugs and a kiss, she laid herself out, prostrate, on my front porch, proclaiming loudly “I don’t care about anybody but Mommy!” Knowing she...
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...