A wise man once said, it’s impossible to see the purpose in everything we do looking forward, it’s only in looking backward that we can connect the dots. I think that is what all grandparents experience…the looking back effect.

I can’t change the “we’s” to I’s. See, MY reality is that WE (my wife of 25 years and I) have always been a WE when it comes to our kids, and now our granddaughter. So some of my thoughts come from a very personal “I” place and some come from our collective “WE” place. None of them however actually speak to “grandparenting” as a global experience as such. The only true global experiences in there are that we grow older, perhaps a little wiser, and our perceptions change as we experience life and all that comes with it. I believe those notions are pretty universal, whether we are triggered or not.

Nice essay. Slightly triggered over here. I could read your perspective more openly if you changed all the “we’s” to “I’s” for I parented and responded to my children as you describe you are responding to your granddaughter; happy for you,…it is a glorious and deeply grounding experience…raising children from a conscious state. So don’t take this the wrong way, but I feel your attempt to speak to grandparenting as a global experience for a particular generation is a tad arrogant. With lots of appreciation and support, but committed to speaking my truth these days,
Your friend,
Dina