The Grand Life: Wholehearted Grandparenting

It might be time for you to recheck your estate planning, because things change with time. Our chat with an elder law specialist might help you get motivated. You don't have to enjoy the process, but you really should do it.

Notes: The National Association of Elder Law Attorneys, naela.org, can help you find an attorney in your state who can help.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How present are you when you grandparent? Samantha Reynolds is a Certified Conscious Parenting coach. Her book, "Help Me Be Me," is available at her web site, http://www.samanthareynolds.ca .

Notes

• Samantha credits learnings from Dr. Shefali, whose details and books are at https://www.drshefali.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Emily and Mike discuss what happens when grandparents become too busy or too burdened and approach burnout. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Grandparents can provide great support to adult children going through a divorce. Emily and Mike talk with Leah, a single mom who has been through it herself. Leah is now a coach, driven by a passion to help women and their families through divorce.

Learn more about her work at https://www.leahgiaquintacoaching.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Capturing your family's stories, pictures, and media is a ton of work! Fortunately there are professionals who can help. Andrew Hall from No Story Lost talks about the work behind capturing and preserving a family's story.

His company is at https://nostorylost.com.

If you'd like to dig deeper on this, give a listen to these earlier episodes:
"Capture Your History" with Dr. Elizabeth Keating (S6E39)
"The Power of Story, Part 1" with memoirist Felicia Chang
"The Power of Story, Part 2" with a grandfather focused on sharing stories with grands

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Emily and Mike touch base with listeners on why ratings and reviews matter, the worrisome career choice of Social Media Influencer (depicted on this week's episode art), and how exactly to leave a podcast review on an iPhone.

Please share your comments by email at [email protected] or by voice at (317) 572-7876.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Some of us will be fortunate enough to see the results of intentional grandparenting in the lives of our older grands. Meet Zach Samalonis, a twentysomething who cared for and grew from his grandparents' struggles and influences. Stan Samalonis and Zach, age 8, grace the cover art for this episode.

Zach's personal story is highlighted on his portfolio web site, https://www.zachsamdesigns.com/.

We met Zach through this article about his aviation camp experiences written by his mom for the website NextAvenue.

To hear more from us on this theme, check out our earlier episode, "Do Grandparents Matter?"  (It's one of Mike's all-time favorites.)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Author and anthropologist Helen Ellis returns for an update with Emily and Mike about her books and research on being distance grandparent and a distance grandchild. Helen's books are available here on her website, distancefamilies.com.

For more on this subject, check out earlier episodes: 
Global Grandparenting, Part 1  
Global Grandparenting, Part 2

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Grandparents who live with the emotional consequences of trauma find it tough sometimes to be their best selves to their grands and adult children. John Henry Parker specializes in coming alongside veterans and helping them through personal transformation, using tools and ideas that apply to non-veterans as well.

RESOURCES

• Email our guest at [email protected]
• Take the Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire at truesage.com, and the Communications Survey at https://harvestingwisdom.com/communication-survey/.
• John Henry's books areand "Be The Dawn In the Darkness" at https://www.amazon.com/Be-Dawn-Darkness-Relentless-Becoming/dp/1544536488 and "Transitioning Veterans," https://transitioningveteransbook.com/ 
• Listen to our earlier episodes on related subjects:
  "Estrangement"  (several perspectives on impact and resolution) 
  "Know Yourself To Be Grand" (think "to be grand, you should know yourself")

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Many grandparents help fund needs (and wants) of their adult children and grands. This is dangerous territory,  given the shortfall in retirement savings for many grandparents. Emily and Mike hear the bottom line from a financial educator, Cyrus Bamji, with the Alliance for Lifetime Income, which educates savers on a range of approaches to funding in retirement. 

Other episodes on this topic include "Overbuying" and "Grandmothers at Work."

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.