A year ago I attended the 70th birthday celebration of a good friend. At his luncheon I sat next to an old high school classmate and told her about the GaGa Sisterhood, my social network for grandmas. Even though she wasn’t a grandma, she was very interested and wanted me to meet her friend, Joanne Bracco, who’d just started publishing Parenting on the Peninsula, a monthly journal for San Mateo County parents.
Several weeks later I met Joanne for lunch. We connected immediately with our similar goals of sharing information that enriches family life. She invited me to write a column for her publication. I wasn’t ready to commit to a column but agreed to write an article.
Joanne is also a grandma so I added her to my email list and started sending her my monthly GaGazine for grandmas who are looking for creative ways to connect with their grandchildren. That’s when she started her campaign to convince me to write a column.
One year later, in POP’s first anniversary issue, my family and I are all over the September issue. My husband, our daughter, son-in-law, two granddaughters and I are on the cover in a photo taken at Sharon Park. On page 3, Joanne introduces my new column, The Go-To Grandma on page 9, about National Grandparents Day. On page 11, there’s a feature story about the GaGa Sisterhood: Grandmas Take Active Role in Child Rearing, with a color photo by Mike Koozmin of me holding Amelia Kate, my eighteen-month old granddaughter.
You can download the September issue of Parenting on the Peninsula. I welcome your suggestions for topics you’d like to see in future columns. (Update 2020 – website for Parenting on the Peninsula no longer available.)