Father’s Day is around the corner. It’s a Hallmark holiday that can be a little loud about certain kinds of dads. The coaching-from-the-sidelines dads, the tie-getting dads, the grilling-something-in-the-backyard dads. The ones who were there from the beginning, on purpose, with a plan. Those dads need to be celebrated, for sure. But this message isn’t…
About That Cape They Keep Trying to Put on You Let’s talk about the cape. You know the one. Someone hands it to you in the school pickup line, or the grocery store, or at a family dinner where Aunt Someone has had enough wine to get philosophical. “You’re such a hero, your grandchldren are…
You said yes on a Tuesday. Maybe it wasn’t even a real yes. Maybe it was a “of course” or a silence that everyone in the room took as agreement. And then there’s a car seat in your Honda and you’re standing in your kitchen at 11:43 at night Googling how to enrol your grandchild…
A while back, I was approached to be part of a documentary film to be launched on the Knowledge Network about grandparents raising their grandchildren across British Columbia (my province, in Canada). It was an honour and felt meaningful when the invitation first came. It felt more than slightly surreal when four people with cameras,…
Earlier today, I was being interviewed for an upcoming article, and the conversation turned to all the different ways we define “family.” It was thoughtful and wide-ranging, and as often happens, it lingered with me long after the call ended. Because once you start pulling on that thread, you begin to notice how easily certain…
A quiet winter story about watching my grandson race in a Nordic ski loppet and discovering the rare joy of being just Grandma for a day.
There’s a story we’re told about the holidays. That this is the season of togetherness. Of joy. Of family gathered around the table. Of children coming home, grandparents hosting, traditions unfolding the way they always have. But for many grandfamilies, the holidays are layered. Tender. Complicated. Heavy in ways that don’t always show on the…
Here We Go Again is now out in the big-wide world, and in the hands of the first who ordered. Eeek! I won’t lie… my heart is doing that mix of skipping and thudding that only comes when you’re putting something vulnerable into the open. But what helps is knowing this book isn’t just mine….
I’ve been fortunate to travel widely and live overseas for stretches of my life. That kind of exposure leaves you with a broad awareness of how other cultures weave family together. I noticed early on that in many places, grandparents are not just on the sidelines. They are central to the daily rhythm of family…
When you meet a grandparent who’s raising their grandchild, you’re meeting someone in the middle of a whole, living story. There’s love. There’s hard work. There are moments they didn’t see coming and moments they wouldn’t trade for anything. It’s easy to fill in the blanks when you hear someone is raising their grandchildren. But…
Our Song: A GrandFamily Story Told in Music When a child comes into your care unexpectedly whether after trauma, loss, or family upheaval, it can feel like the ground has shifted beneath your feet. Suddenly you’re navigating legal systems, packing school lunches, and comforting a child who’s grieving something they can’t quite name. And you’re…
This past weekend, I attended the Fairness for Children Raised by Relatives 2025 Gathering. It was a powerful few days. The kind of space where stories aren’t just told, they’re witnessed. Where the unspoken things finally have room to breathe. During one of the presentations, a statistic was mentioned… and I haven’t been able to…
GrandRaising in the Shadow of Reunification I remember the hallway more than anything. Long, sterile, and humming with fluorescent lights. I was pushing a stroller, one that was so new it might still have had the tags on it. I was there to visit my precious daughter, in the inpatient ward, at the very same…
It always starts with a question. Usually small. Sometimes unexpected. “Grandma, did you have a dog when you were a kid?” Or maybe, “Who was my mom’s dad?” You pause. It seemed innocent enough, right? But how do you answer? How much do you say? How much do they need to know? If you’re raising…
If you’re reading this, chances are you’re on a journey you never anticipated — raising your grandchildren. It’s true, life threw a curveball. But amid the challenges and surprises, something incredibly beautiful can bloom. In my 50’s, I was embracing the joys of a new relationship and looking forward to the freedom of the empty…
You know how sometimes someone says something so unexpected that it feels like a bucket of cold water to the face? Yeah, that happened to me just the other day. Let me tell you a short story… Wes and I were out recently with some friends (new grandparents in the typical sense) — catching up…
This morning hit me right in the feels. The garbage and recycling truck rumbled by at 7:15 as it does every Wednesday morning – loud, clattery, and doing its usual garbage truck thing. And I was struck by the quiet in the house. Issac was curled up under a blanket on the comfy chair in…
It happened again today. There I was, enjoying the sunshine in the school playground at parent-pickup, chatting with a young mom I’ve known since she herself was six years old, pushing her own young child in a swing. Perky, cute and bubbly, she said to me, “I love to see you around. It’s so great…