“Grandpa, will you get your ice cream in a dish or in a cone?” my then-seven-year-old granddaughter, Amina, asked. We were walking to the ice cream parlor in the little town in Connecticut where her mother was the rabbi of the local temple.I was taking...
There are fifty latkes on this tray,” my 95-year-old mother says.I nod and continue peeling potatoes. My sister is frying. My niece is chopping onions. My mother spreads another paper towel on a cookie sheet, and continues counting.It’s that time of year. Where the women...
Despite its tremendous joys, being a Jewish grandparent isn’t easy. Our kids are too religious or not religious enough. In other words, they don’t do it our way. This also applies to their thoughts about Israel: they may love it more than we do or...
How to have a meaningful and fun Thanksgiving celebration! Thanksgiving will be here in a few weeks. This is the gratitude holiday. In times of challenge especially, reflecting on the things that ground us: our essential relationships, stories, values, and purpose fills us with resolve and...
Author of Unconditional Love: A Guide to Navigating the Joys and Challenges of Being a Grandparent Today, Jane Isay was transformed by the births of her four grandchildren and has run groups offering a warm place to discuss grandparenting in the time of Covid. Though...
Attention and greetings grandchildren! On Grandparents Day, we recognize and thank our grandparents for all they do for our families. But what do we really know about them? Below is a Grandparents' Scavenger Hunt. We encourage you to annoy your parents and grandparents until, together,...
We are so fortunate that Grandparents Day falls right in the middle of the ten Days of Awe. Here are six awesome ways to celebrate National Grandparents Day, September 12, 2021.In six words write what it means to you to be a grandparent. We...
As a child, on nights when I slept at my grandparents’ small home on Thornhill Avenue in Little Neck, New York, Nana Francis would soak me in what felt like near-boiling water and scrub me with a loofa pad until my skin shone a bright...
It was the perfectly silly Zayde game. I covered Bina, my 18-month-old granddaughter, up with the blanket and she’d pretend to be asleep. I pulled the blanket back and she giggled and announced “awake”. We did this 10 or 11 times until it was time...
Food and fun, kitchens, and dining room tables. When we grandparents cook with our children and grandchildren, we not only share our favorite foods. We share our values, our traditions, our stories, and most importantly, our love....