grandparenting
gradual, and long. Aging is inevitable, but my wish is that I can control its pace—slow it down as much as possible. Because I still feel like I have a lot to do and a lot to enjoy. Not to dwell on it, but I want to leave something behind when I go—some kind of legacy—something that makes the world a little better place, so that is the second wish. I want to be independent and able to care for myself as long as possible, but my third wish is that I can avoid the loneliness that creeps up on so many as they move into the “senior” part of their lives. I feel
that I can handle everything that comes better if those I care about and love most still care about and love me back. My grandchildren, on the opposite end of their lives, will live in a world I can’t even imagine, and my fourth wish is not for me but for them—that they will have the strength and the values and the faith to find their own joy and reach their potential. We have discovered a secret about these four wishes that we want to share (although many of you may have already found it). And then, we want to make a suggestion about what to do with the secret. Here is the secret: The best way to work on the first three wishes is to work on the fourth one. The Solution (or at least the beginning of one). We have been working with thousands of grand- parents to put together a grandparenting course. We call it Grandparenting 101 and you can see the curriculum here. And you can sign up and register for the course here. Hope you will join us!
Let me elaborate a bit on all four of those wishes Since I am Almost Everyone, I can be candid and tell you that at this stage, I am starting to feel my age. Little things mostly, but I’m aware that I can’t do eve- rything I once could, and realistically, my physical and mental peaks may have passed. I may be, as they say, a little bit “over the hill,” but it’s not always such a bad place to be—when you crest a hill, you can coast a little. My first wish is just that the downslope will be
The Eyres’ parenting and life-balance books have reached millions and been translated into a dozen lan- guages. As fellow baby boomers, their passion and their writing focus have now shifted to the joy of grandparenting. Linda’s latest book is Grandmother- ing, and Richard’s is Being a Proactive Grandfather , and their latest initiative is a Grandparenting101 Zoom course which has an invitation list that you can join by emailing EyresGrandparenting101@gmail.com
22 GRANDP arenting
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