During my childhood visitors to my grandmother’s home often wouldn’t stop at the front door. Instead they would head straight for the side gate that led to her back yard and grab hold to the opening latch. There they would fall silent and still as they carefully surveyed the area. Only the untrained visitor or the most foolish friends entered Nana’s back yard unannounced. Nana was known to have the near bipolar quality of being loving and generous to her friends and neighbors in one instant yet ready in the next to run them through with various garden implements if they infringed on the boundaries of her property. In particular, visitors to the back yard were seen as possible spies come to steal her gardening genius. This behavior was especially perplexing to new friends who no doubt had been told at some point and time to “Stop by and see my old piece of garden”, by none other than Nana herself.

What surprised me most is how worried I was.

Have you ever thought of getting your grand mom a unique Christmas gift? Maybe a turkey air fryer or a pair of matched pajamas? Most of the time, we tend to think that other than the shopping you give to your grand moms, a Christmas card is the best complimentary gift you can add on top. It doesn’t have to be this way all the time; though they may be hard to please, there are unique gifts that can make them happy. These Christmas gift ideas can help you find something suitable for your grand mom this festive season.

I had dinner the other night with a group of girlfriends who I met over 20 years ago. We all had sons in a Tiger Scout den and have been best of friends ever since. I am the youngest of us, but I started my family at the ripe old age of 19 while they waited until their 30s. The dinner conversation was mainly about dating. All of us are divorced, with the exception of one who is widowed. One of my friends even had a date prior to dinner and brought him into the restaurant to meet all of us before he went home. A year ago I would have been all up on this scene, but something warm and wonderful happened at the beginning of this year; I was gifted another granddaughter. I have two more granddaughters, ages 10 and 5. My oldest was born close by, but her parents were military and soon were stationed overseas. When the second baby was born, they lived out of state and have remained out of state. I guess I never got to fully experience the joy of really being involved as a grandmother until Quincy Rose came along. I was there all during her mama's pregnancy, and during the birth, and afterwards the two of them would come and spend the night once a week until my daughter went back to work. Now I babysit the little sugar plum nearly every Saturday. My other two granddaughters live just one state over now, so this year I've been able to visit them more than in the past and that has been wonderful too! There was a time not that long ago when I was concerned with finding a new partner, or obsessing over the current partner......I would say, “I’m not ready to settle into a rocker with knitting needles just yet!” After all, I just barely turned 55; I have a lot of life left to live! But sometimes things can shift without you even realizing what's happening. I used to get happy to get a text or phone call from my boyfriend. Now I text and ask if my grandbaby, who can't even talk yet, can FaceTime with me. If I don't see her for a week, it feels like a month. I used to look forward to date weekends with the boyfriend; now I look forward to surprising my granddaughters with a visit and seeing them run to me with hugs, smiles, and so much love! Or seeing Quincy Rose reach her hand out towards me while we are on FaceTime trying to touch my face as she likes to do. And I got to thinking: why is being a grandmother so much better than being a mom? All I can come up with is that when I was a mom, I had so much responsibility that having fun seemed to take a backseat. Now I get to have all the fun and not so much responsibility. I've learned not to take for granted those hugs, smiles, and moments staring into my granddaughters’ eyes. I'm not resisting being a grandmother anymore, I am falling gently in love with it. I'm spending more time with my own grandmother, who is a very active 93 years old, grateful that she is still with me and still healthy and active. There is something special about this generational coming of mothers and daughters. So special, in fact, that for Christmas I bought yarn, crochet hooks, and a book to teach my oldest granddaughter how to crochet. The rocking chair will have to wait though, not quite ready for that!

My Italian grandparents are 84. They're from another world, and a different time. Both of which don'y exist anymore. They had their honeymoon in the mountains of Italy, at my Nonna's sister farm. She said it was the best two weeks of her life.

For a girl, what is being a bride today? Perhaps there is not much difference these days being a bride and being a girl before being a bride. Girls are demanding these days. They have their conditions when they want to marry.

Families gathered huddling in small circles waiting for their future concert musician to come out. We had just finished Landon—my eldest grandson’s—Middle School holiday concert. He is a violinist.

From the outside looking in, most individuals have no idea what it is like to become a caregiver. The caregiver and patient can go through many emotions such as loneliness, helplessness, guilt, stress, anger, resentment, fear, anxiety, grief, sadness, and depression for different reasons.

I never aspired to be a grandmother; I wasn’t against it, just never thought much about it. Then, along came my granddaughter, Madison, my first grandchild and I was in love.

This morning my wife woke me up by saying, "They stole our car from in front of my parent's house!" Not a nice way to start the day.

Seven months ago, you stood in front of me with an enormous smile, hardly able to contain your excitement. “I have something to show you!” you said, handing me your phone.

“My nose itches. I smell peaches. Yonder comes a man with a hole in his breeches.”