A little rickety, but still rockin'
By Mel Walsh
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12:01 a.m. PT Apr 18, 2008
I thought I had it in the bag. With twelve grandkids, I imagined I had earned my Grandmother Button and knew most of what there was to know. So when three granddaughters - including the giggle-britches twins - spent the last week with us, I "knew" what was expected of me - trips to amusement parks, ski lessons up at Tahoe, forays to Blockbuster, flying thumb sessions with video games.
No way. Clearly, I needed to polish up my grammy credentials.
The girls were happy having a grass fight with the neighbor girl. That's where each side pulls up grass and throws it at the other. Evidently, this is so much fun it makes the day. Then they looked at the baby goats next door. Next, was an introduction to the donkeys that live with the family on the other side. Yes, the city kids were 4-H for the day. They borrowed a bit a country from the nice people next door.
Also on the entertainment docket last week was a raid on the jewelry box where old clip-on earrings were in great demand. If you saw eight-year-old twins parading around Grass Valley in pearl earrings down to their shoulders, they were ours. Then they noticed the flowers in the yard and the house is now decorated with wreaths and centerpieces of daffodils and lilacs.
In the groove after the floral adventures, we pretended their dog was another sister and the dog went to bed on the floor with the girls, covered with its own little quilt. I offered an eyemask so the dog would sleep late, but the girls thought that was a bit much.
As for eats, I learned little kids don't like gram's speciality, barbequed butterflied leg of lamb. (What was I thinking!) But they really liked the Chinese buffet restaurant where you can get maybe fifteen desserts and all-you-can-eat fried wonton stuffed with cream cheese. Too many were just enough.
As for the spring snow adventures, forget the skiing and the snowboards. Going down a hill in a five-buck saucer provided two days of cold adventure. The twins had never seen snow, so that was a big deal in itself. White stuff! You can slide on it! It's all over the place! Cool.
So what did I do on my spring vacation with the grandkids? I reminded myself once again what I thought I already knew: Keep it simple, stupid.
KISS: The mantra of a still-learning grandmother.
Words to the Stiff
Now, another subject:
If you are having trouble moving around like the graceful sylph that used to be you, there is help when it comes to flexibility. It's called the Feldenkrais method, which is basically a way to educate people about how to move the body.
Sounds dumb, right? We were born knowing how, but somewhere along the way I know my body forgot how to get down on the floor and spring back up again. Actually, now that I mention it, many other parts of me also have amnesia. I guess I should face it. I am a stiff.
If you too have gotten less flexible, you might look to Jackie Mason, a local woman trained in the Feldenkrais method. Jackie runs classes and TV shows called Movement for Life. You can check out her TV classes anytime by going to www.nevadacountytv.org and clicking on Movement for Life. Jackie's website is www.movementforlife.info and her phone, if you want to find out about classes, is (530) 478.9547.
So keep moving. Think rockin' granny, not rocking chair.
Mel Walsh is a gerontologist and certifiable geezer. Her book of advice for older women, Hot Granny, is available at The Book Seller in Grass Valley and online at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
