Chicken Soup for the Grandparent's Soul : Stories to Open the Hearts and Rekindle the Spirits of Grandparents

by Canfield, Jack, Mark

• ISBN13: 9781558749740
• ISBN10: 1558749748
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-03-01
• Publisher: Hci

Summary

Today's grandparents aren't content to sit in their rockers doing needlepoint or whittling wood-modern grandparents are healthy and active. Grandma may be traveling the world, writing a book or taking dance lessons and Grandpa might be camping with the grandkids, playing a golf tournament or skydiving! Nana may have entered the family by marrying Grampa later in life, or Pop-Pop may be a beloved family friend who's always there when someone needs him. Families are finding that the meaning of "grandparent" has changed tremendously but that grandparents continue to be treasured members of our families. In this latest addition to the Chicken Soup family, children and grandchildren will relive memories of their parents and grandparents as they read stories of love, humor and wisdom. Each touching tale will inspire them to make the most of the time they still have together and encourage them to seek deeper experiences. Grandparents will learn the value of their contributions to and realize what an honored position they hold within their circle of loved ones. Every reader will gain a new appreciation of the benefits of a close and connected family. This is a perfect gift to show grandparents how much they are loved.

Author Biography

Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen are the co-creators of the #1 New York Times and USA Today best-selling Chicken Soup for the Soul series. They have dedicated their lives to the personal and professional development of others. Stephanie Marston, M.F.T. is an international speaker, author, and life-quality expert, Stephanie is President of Life Quality Seminars. Her company is devoted to helping women balance their competing priorities and create a high quality life. She had appeared on numerous radio and television programs such as The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Home Show, and Women-to-Women. Her books include If Not Now, When?, The Magic of Encouragement and The Divorced Parent. For more information, visit www.stephaniemarston.com.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	xiii
Introduction	xix
Share with Us	xxiii
The Joys of Grandparenting
Orange Cheeks	2	(7)
Jay O'Callahan
I Love You, Grandma	9	(1)
Virginia (Ginny) Ellis
Everybody Knows Everybody	10	(6)
Lea MacDonald
The Antique	16	(2)
Harriet May Savitz
Magic Snowball Time	18	(4)
Colleen Madonna Flood Williams
One Finger	22	(3)
Linda Osmundson
Little Marie	25	(2)
Angela D'Valentine
Raising My Sights	27	(2)
Terri McPherson
Moe Birnbaum, the Fiddler	29	(4)
Sidney B. Simon
The Last Man on the Moon	33	(2)
Eugene Cernan
Don Davis
The Priceless Gift	35	(1)
Irene (Seida) Carlson
Same Agenda	36	(3)
Patricia Pinney
Buying Something for Herself	39	(4)
Karen Brandt
The Gift of Giving	43	(4)
Hope Saxton
Computer Granny	47	(4)
Kay Conner Pliszka
Here with Me	51	(3)
Gail C. Bracy
A Grandparent's Love
The Red Mahogany Piano	54	(4)
Joe Edwards
A Grandpa's Love	58	(2)
Scot Thurman
Gift from Another Grandmother	60	(2)
Doris Hays Northstrom
We'll Never Divorce You	62	(4)
Hanoch
Meladee McCarty
The Grandma Video	66	(3)
June Cerza Kolf
Pumpkin Magic	69	(2)
Kati Dougherty-Carthum
Lemon Love	71	(3)
Darcie Hossack
The Play	74	(5)
Selma Wassermann
A Doll of a Christmas	79	(6)
Cookie Curci
A Grandparent's Wisdom
Good Medicine	85	(4)
J. T. Garrett
Learning to Listen	89	(4)
Ann Russell
The Smooth Stone	93	(4)
Walker Meade
Nana's Mysterious Panache	97	(3)
Lynne Zielinski
Through the Windowpane	100	(3)
Connie Spittler
Home Run	103	(4)
Alison Peters
Grandpa and Me Fishing	107	(2)
Michael W. Curry
Grandpa's Little Buddy	109	(8)
Brain G. Jett
Passing on A Legacy
Grandmother Nature	117	(4)
Sally Franz
A Valentine for Grandma	121	(4)
Joseph Walker
Harvest Moon	125	(3)
Kenneth L. Pierpont
Passing the Torch	128	(4)
Marnie O. Mamminga
He Was a Hero, Like All Grandfathers	132	(3)
Sue Vitou
The Boys of Iwo Jima	135	(5)
Michael T. Powers
The Stories Grandma Told	140	(3)
Susan Garcia-Nikolova
Worms and All	143	(4)
Pamela Jenkins
Perennial	147	(4)
Tinker E. Jacobs
The Silver Sugar Bowl	151	(3)
Karen Carr
My Grandmother's Shell	154	(3)
Faith Andrews Bedford
Grammy's Gifts	157	(4)
Sheryl Berk
The Secret of Grandma's Sugar Crock	161	(4)
Cookie Curci
Grandma Hattie	165	(3)
Tom Bodett
Finger Play	168	(3)
Carol McAdoo Rehme
When The Kids Teach us
Behind the Mirror	171	(3)
Laura Reilly
Amazon Woman Becomes a Princess	174	(3)
Adeline C. Erwin
Through the Grandkids' Eyes	177	(2)
Jill Grubb-Travoss
Hershey's Dark Chocolate	179	(3)
Roger Dean Kiser
Dial H for Heaven	182	(2)
Helen Colella
Grandma and the Chicken Pox	184	(1)
Susan Amerikaner
Somewhere, Babe Ruth Is Smiling	185	(3)
Harriet May Savitz
Rainy Day Rainbows	188	(4)
Arthur Montague
What's a Grandma to Do?	192	(4)
Patricia Lorenz
Courtney's Love Lesson	196	(3)
Alice Collins
Grandma's Report Card	199	(4)
Meladee McCarty
My Grandchild's Hand	203	(4)
Jill Grubb-Travoss
Becoming A Grandparent
Life, What a Beautiful Gift	207	(5)
Barbara Jeanne Fisher
Half-Listened	212	(3)
Debby Stoner
Gramma Jan	215	(4)
Jan Coleman
Good News, Bad News	219	(5)
Linda Osmundson
She'll Call Me ``Ma''	224	(4)
Jackie Davis
The Bathroom Mirror	228	(3)
Wanda Mitchell
Reflections of Hope	231	(2)
Yulene A. Rushton
All in Good Time	233	(3)
Chris Mikalson
Crossing the Threshold	236	(4)
Lillian Carson
Challenges
Gabriella and the Trophy	240	(4)
Barbara E. Hoffman
The Moses Connection	244	(3)
Helen Colella
Twenty-Nine and Holding	247	(2)
Nancy B. Gibbs
Mrs. Malaprop's Kin	249	(2)
Sharon Landeen
A Fair Trade	251	(4)
Luise Putcamp, jr
Love Times Three	255	(4)
Barbara Jeanne Fisher
Not Enough Hands!	259	(4)
Cathie Collier Hulen
Birthday Girl	263	(6)
Barbara Bloom
Special Connections
The Blissful Couple	269	(1)
Judith Viorst
Gramma, Please Don't Make Me Put Them Back!	270	(3)
Karren E. Key
Thoughts from a Three-Year-Old	273	(1)
Barbara Cornish
Princesses Need Jewels	274	(4)
Kris Hamm Ross
Other Grandpa	278	(5)
Katharine St. Vincent
Paula Alone with Her Grandpa	283	(3)
Sidney B. Simon
Real Magic	286	(4)
Brad Henderson
Sophie's Kids	290	(4)
Meladee McCarty
The New Family on Walton's Mountain	294	(7)
Kimberly Ripley
Too Busy for the Rocking Chair
The Rodeo Grandmas	301	(7)
Hanoch McCarty
More Whipped Cream, Please	308	(3)
Virginia (Ginny) Ellis
Why Not?	311	(4)
Christina Coruth
A Grandma Takes Power	315	(2)
Michael Jordan Segal
The Granny Hook	317	(3)
Kathe Campbell
Grandma Lois	320	(3)
Patricia S. Mays
Ageless	323	(3)
Michele Wallace Campanelli
The Marriage License	326	(4)
Meladee McCarty
The Gold Locket	330	(5)
Bruce Carmichael
More Chicken Soup?	335	(1)
Supporting Grandparents in Difficult Times	336	(2)
Who Is Jack Canfield?	338	(1)
Who is Mark Victor Hansen?	339	(1)
Who is Meladee McCarty?	340	(1)
Who is Hanoch McCarty?	341	(2)
Contributors	343	(10)
Permissions (continued)	353

Excerpts

Lemon Love My grandfather gave me the world when he gave me his love. I never had to guess if the wonderfully weathered old man, whose eyes smiled brighter than his mouth, loved me. Unlike many of his generation, he believed in saying so. "DonÆt tell my other grandchildren," he would say with a voice become as familiar as my own heart-beat, while he gently herded me to an ice cream stand before supper, "but you are my favorite." It was high praise since I was the 24 th of 27 to be delivered into his happy embrace. Grandpa would have done anything for me, but since love is all about the little things, he was always willing to busy himself with some project meant for my happiness. There was the double-benched swing, crafted in his farm workshop, upon which I spent endless afternoons inhaling the scent of spring wildflowers, while prairie clouds morphed from tempestuous oceans, to families of waddling ducks, to snow-crested mountain peaks only as far away as my imagination made them. In the house, where my grandmother tended an oven that never went cold, I carried baskets full of romping kittens each spring, played tuneless melodies on an antique pump organ and felt safer than I ever have since. Summer months meant that I could spend more time away from the confinements of city life. Only a twenty minute drive from our home, my mother often made the trip with me, past fields of golden wheat, and into the company of my grandfather. On one visit that was meant to be short, I soon forgot myself in the midst of childish bliss. On a tireless red wagon, I pulled all the ingredients of a lemonade stand to the edge of my grandparentÆs property, where a county road intersected a sprinkling of homes, and where other children walked the dusty path to visit friends and family. Excitedly, I peddled my refreshments to the few people who passed by, counting the meager change that was far from the point of my endeavor. My enthusiasm withered, however, when the approaching form of my mother reminded me of an appointment I knew I would not be permitted to miss. "But who will sit at my lemonade stand?" I wanted to know, imparting it all the importance unlost innocence always does. "I guess you will have to pack it away until another day," she replied with regret. Mournfully, I began to obey, slowly replacing my hand-made sign, cups and pitchers into the wagon before loading on the table and chair. From the house, where I had been visible through the window, Grandpa came stepping across the expanse of grass with a stiffness reminding me my best friend was not my own age. Without a word, he gently touched my cheek with a rough finger and bent to undo the work I had reluctantly done. He seated himself in the chair and unfolded a newspaper. "It is a nice day for lemonade," he said. "Hurry back and weÆll share some." When we returned later, Grandpa was still at my post, the newspaper abandoned in favor of a needle and thread and some clothes in ne

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Excerpted from Chicken Soup for the Grandparent's Soul: Stories to Open the Hearts and Rekindle the Spirits of Grandparents by Jack L. Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Hanoch McCarty, Meladee McCarty
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.