Nanas In the News
On Fridays I will post articles about news worthy grandmothers. If you have an article or know of a grandmother who has made the news for doing or saying something unusual, by all means send it to me. Before I move on I’d like to make what I consider to be an obvious statement: this generation of grandmothers is different than any other generation before us. We have the power of the Internet at our fingertips and because of scientific advances and advances in health care, we are living longer and better than ever before. We may be grandmothers, but we are not “grannys” if you know what I mean.
My generation grew up watching the Beverly Hillbillies and while my own grandmother didn’t resemble Granny Clampett, she wasn’t exactly what I would call modern either. She always wore a dress. Never worked outside the home (but boy did she work in the home) and only voted in one election (when my brother ran for a seat on the local school board). She was a great Uncle Wiggly player (board game) and read all of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren book, after book, after book.
By the time my mother became a grandmother, things were a lot different. She worked full time. My dad was a Democrat and she was a Republican (partially to spite him) and while she was always busy, she never missed an election. She was at every school function my brother and I ever participated in, and when her grandchildren came along she attended all of those as well.
Now its my turn to carry the grandmother torch. Where will I take it? That depends in part on you.
One of the reasons I started NanaHood was to promote Nana Power. I want to honor and recognize grandmothers for what they do for others. That’s one reason on Monday’s we will have “Nana of the Week”. Another goal of NanaHood is to be an advocate for grandmothers who need our help. There are grandmothers who aren’t allowed to see their grandchildren, or worse, who don’t even know where their grandchildren are. My vision for this site is an online community of loving, caring, moms (after all we were moms first!) and grandmothers who can help and support each other, share ideas and recipes, encourage and mentor other women, be an active voice for the rights of grandparents, and who can make a difference in their communities, states and country-one grandchild at a time.
That sounds like a lot to accomplish but with your help I think it’s doable. There is Nana Power in numbers. Please help me get the word out. Tell all the important women in your life about this site and ask them to join. Let’s be a voice for ALL grandchildren everywhere. Let’s set the world on fire one pair of granny panties at a time!
Oh yeah, I almost forgot….
This weeks Nana in the news is Susan Silverman from Phoenix, Arizona. Ms. Silverman owns a dance studio and is a dancer herself. She also is the grandmother of five. Her daughter, Lauren Charpio, recently published a book called “You can call me Hoppa! A grandparent’s guide to choosing a name that fits.” According to an article in the Arizona Republic, neither Ms. Charpio’s parents or her in-laws were crazy about being called “Grandma” or “Grandpa.” Ms. Charpio did some research and found that the average age for today’s first time grandparent is 47, which is pretty young to be called “Ma” or “Pa.” (My mom was only 42 when her first grandchild was born!) When Ms. Charpio’s first child was born she called Ms. Silverman something that sounded like “Ga Ga” and the name stuck. Chapiro says her book is sort of a “Baby name book for grandparents.”
I loved this story for several reasons. First, I thought it was cool that Ms. Silverman is a dancing grandmother. (I have always harbored secret aspirations of dancing on Broadway) Second, I like the idea of being free to call grandparents something other than just “grandma” and “grandpa.” And finally, this story illustrates something I’ve believed for a long time. It really doesn’t matter what you call us; Nana, Memaw, GiGi, GaGa, what really matter is the relationship.
It’s all about the love!
And that’s this weeks Nana in the news….
Happy Labor Day and be safe!
