Monday, November 14, 2022
We are thrilled to welcome you to our very first blog post of Our Grand Lives!
As recently retired kindergarten teachers, we had often dreamed of the freedom that would come with our newly acquired status…
No more alarm clocks! Endless hours spent reading with our feet up! Taking long leisurely walks in the middle of the day! Lunching with friends! Drinking coffee (or Diet Coke) whenever we wanted! Most importantly, using the bathroom on our own time! While we loved the perks our retirement status offered, we soon discovered how much WE MISSED TEACHING!
Mind you, we did not miss the emails, the never ending meetings or, what seemed like, the ever-changing initiatives. Rather, we craved the time and energy spent with children… sharing our favorite books while reading to and with them, laughing and singing together, exploring the world around us or using our imaginations when making a fun project. We each missed the discovery that comes through play and social interactions! We also found ourselves craving the creative outlets and learning opportunities that were embedded in our role as teachers and we longed for that sense of community that comes with spending time with others who share common interests and passions!
While we and our families continued to adapt to the changes that came with our retirements, we also found ourselves beginning another exciting and precious journey in life…. within six months of each other, WE BOTH BECAME GRANDMAS for the first time!
WHAT JOY! Rather than responding to the calls for “Mrs. Churchill” or “Mrs. Pederson,” we found ourselves embracing our new roles as “Grammy” and “Gramma.” Watching our own adult children become parents and then having the privilege of witnessing this new generation of little ones begin has been an incredible blessing, enriching our lives in boundless ways!
Though we definitely consider ourselves “experienced” (aka “old”) teachers, we would never claim to be experts, especially when it comes to infant or toddler development and we are definitely newbies to the grandparenting and retirement world!
Yet, the saying “once a teacher, always a teacher” holds true, so when our grandchildren were born, we each started researching and looking for resources that would give us ideas for ways to encourage our little ones and ways to support our own adult children during this phase of life. We quickly discovered that there wasn’t much out there to guide us, especially during the very early stages of “grandparenthood.” So, we’ve decided to take it on ourselves!
This quote is purposely positioned front and center on the “Our Grand Lives” home page as it reflects our vision in creating this website. Through this blog, “Our Grand Lives,” we hope to share hands-on experiences and real life activities that you can then do with your grandchildren or to celebrate the gift of family! Along the way, we plan to throw in occasional words of wisdom, to share family adventures and traditions and even offer a lesson or two learned during this next phase of life! We look forward to creating a community of readers who share in our vision!
In our next post (look for it to be published tomorrow and/or feel free to subscribe at the bottom of our home page), we will continue to introduce ourselves in a bit more detail when we share a few fun facts about ourselves and our friendship. We’ll also introduce our families to you! In a follow up post later this week, we’ll provide a few more details about our plans for this blog and the direction it will take. Then, during the last few weeks of the year, as we all prepare for and celebrate the holiday season, we will post once each week, offering additional glimpses into our grand lives. As we welcome the New Year, look for us to then begin with regular content as we plan to post twice each week! We welcome your insights and comments as we grow and learn together!
