The Grand Life: Wholehearted Grandparenting

Sometimes, due to death, illness, or incarceration, your adult child just can't be a parent to your grandchildren. Capable and engaged grandparents can make all the difference, unless someone else blocks that relationship. You can take this to court: many states give explicit rights to grandparents that many of them do not know much about. Family law attorney Yoninah Orenstein talks through a particular case of hers that shines a light on the problem and gives advice on how to solve it.

Our guest is from the law firm of Flaster Greenberg. 

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This is a quick preview of the episode we're pulling together for later in May. The topic is grandparents' legal right to have access to their grandchildren. In most states, these rights do exist--you just need to understand them, if in a difficult circumstance you would need to exercise them.

Music: Flatlands 2nd by Blue Dot Sessions

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After months of one-a-week and years of podcasting, Emily and Mike are changing the tempo and starting a new endeavor, Speak-E-Z--a grandparent-confidential online meeting series. Come join us at our Patreon page for Speak-E-Z .

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We in the Club Sandwich Generation are caring for our aging parents as well as our kids and grandkids. Many of those aging parents want to "age in place," in homes that aren't properly set up for older folks to live alone. Architect Paul Spite has written about how to navigate these changes, like modifying a home to help our elders age in place, and to soften the pride and resistance that can get in the way.

RESOURCES

Paul's book is Renovations to Enable Aging in Place. He's also created a YouTube video summarizing his book.

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Imagine having a book club with your grands--doesn't that sound like fun? Emily and Mike visit with a mother-and-son team who literally co-wrote the book on how to do this, from inside a book club that met for 11 years (until their kids left for college).

RESOURCES 

Michelle and Ronan McCann are two of the authors of "Reading Together," available here.

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When infant grands come to visit, do they need baby gear you no longer have? BabyQuip to the rescue. Mike and Emily talk with Kelly Inglett, a provider for BabyQuip, a service that can rent you exactly what you need, where and when you need it. Their web presence is here, and there are links there to their mobile app for iOS and Android. 

BabyQuip is offering our listeners a promo code, TGL20, to save $20 off any reservation of $100 or more. (Not an affiliate link, does not benefit us--only you!)

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Author Diana Raab's passion is to help others discover the transformative power of memoir writing. She's written 13 books herself along her own journey of healing from her difficult past. We talk with Diana about her life and her latest book. Learn more at her web site.

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Gloria Horsley and Frank Powers are a pair! Therapists, co-authors, each previously married, and now dating, they're generous advocates of finding love later in life. Their helpful new book "Open to Love: The Secrets of Senior Dating" launches on Valentine's Day. We had a fun conversation with these lively, open-hearted grandparents. Their book is available here. 

Find out more about them at datingdoctors.org and their mission to support surviving spouses at opentohope.com .

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Dave Grunenwald has created a merit badge programs for grandparents to pursue with their grands. Suited for both one-on-one and group activities, it's a resource to help us put more focus and intention into our time with our grands. See examples, and explore his book series, at https://www.grandparentmeritbadges.com .

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Filmmaker Melissa Davey is back with the story of her next film, "Climbing Into Life," about the oldest woman to scale El Capitan in Montana. Both the producer and her subject bring loads of inspiration for all of us.

Learn more about Melissa's first doc, "Beyond Sixty," here, as well the trailer for her new film.

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