Category: Grandparents
Why Every Parent Needs A Will
Editor’s Note: Comox Valley family lawyer Pauline Rae of Nowicki & Rae is here today to discuss getting your affairs in order so that – in case something happens to you – your family is cared for. Writing a will is a hard thing to think about, but so very important. Pauline tells us why. [...]
Ten Things My Kids Will Remember About Summer with Grandparents
Our summer with my parents is nearly over. Just a few more weeks and we’ll be seeing them off with hugs, kisses and a pile of tears too. It’s been an amazing couple of months and I have to say that I’ve never enjoyed spending time with my parents more than I have this year. [...]
Some Things Do Matter More Than Others in Childhood
It’s a matter of days now until Popop and Gramma Sharon park their car in our driveway. They’ve been on the road since the last week of June, making their way from one end of the continent to the other for a 3-month stay on Vancouver Island. When I tell friends that my parents are [...]
How Parents Feel About Us Taking Care of Them
Editor’s Note: Good morning readers. Wendy Johnstone is on site with a look at how parents and older loved ones often feel about their kids beginning to take care of them and make life decisions. She also offers up some tips when providing care and making tough decisions. Here she is: When my father had [...]
Denial Is Not A Strategy – Planning for Unexpected Eldercare Challenges
Editor’s Note: Happy Thursday! This morning we have Wendy Johnstone on site with a look at planning for unexpected eldercare. Here she is: There are days where being in denial is better than coming face to face with reality. Like when your child is so misbehaved in the grocery store, you actually believe this small [...]
Birth Stories – The Hands Of A Grandmother
Editor’s Note: If you missed out on all the information about Cumberland’s Empire Day celebrations, you can catch it all HERE. Now, here’s Deepa with a moving birth story for all the mamas out there. Enjoy. Sometimes you do things right and sometimes you live with regret for the rest of your life. We all [...]
When It’s Time to Have “The Talk” with Your Parents
Editor’s Note: Good morning. Wendy Johnstone is on site with tips to help you recognize when your aging parents need more help than they want to admit and accept, and how to discuss this with them openly and honestly. Here she is: When I was about 25 years old, my grandmother stopped allowing her family and friends [...]
When It's Time to Have "The Talk" with Your Parents
Editor’s Note: Good morning. Wendy Johnstone is on site with tips to help you recognize when your aging parents need more help than they want to admit and accept, and how to discuss this with them openly and honestly. Here she is: When I was about 25 years old, my grandmother stopped allowing her family and friends [...]
Aging Parents, Adult Children – Learn to Make Life Decisions Together
Editor’s Note: Good morning. Wendy Johnstone is on site with a look at learning how to communicate better with your aging parents as they need more care, understanding each others differences and coming to a happy medium where important decisions for health care, living arrangements and more can be made together. Here she is: “It’s hard [...]
Does Caring For Aging Parents Have You Caught In The Middle?
Editor’s Note: Good morning. Wendy Johnstone is on site discussing the Sandwich Generation and offers up some tips on how to manage this time in your life. Here she is: Being a parent gives new meaning to the word exhausted. When my three-and-a-half-year-old, falls to the ground after a quick trip to the grocery store and [...]
How To Plan For A Family Reunion
Editor’s Note: Happy Monday! This morning Alix Wilson is on site with tips on preparing your kids for large family gatherings. Here she is: This summer we are headed to a huge family gathering. It’s a wedding on my husband’s mother’s side of the family, so there will be plenty of people that I have [...]
Improving Our Community One Elder at a Time
Editor’s Note: Good morning readers. First I’d like to announce that Stacey, Kathy and Melanie won the fantastic cookbooks from yesterday. Yay! Now, we are excited to reveal a new direction for Wendy’s Grand-Parents column this morning, as we move toward a long-term discussion about planning for different stages in our lives and ways to [...]
Helping Children Understand Dementia
Editor’s Note: Good morning! Today we have Wendy Johnstone on site helping us help our kids understand dementia. Here she is: “I do remember, and then when I try to remember, I forget.” – Winnie-the-Pooh “Why does Nana call me your name Mommy instead of mine?” “How come Grandpa doesn’t know how to use his [...]
Memorable Care Home Visits with Aging Family
Editor’s Note: Good morning. Today we have Wendy Johnstone with us discussing communication with an aging loved one, as well as tips and tools on communicating with those who have an impairment and/or challenge. Here she is: “I’m among the forgetters. But I’m not an empty shell“. ~ Richard Taylor, author of Alzheimer’s from the [...]
Helping Children With the Loss of a Grandparent
Editor’s Note: Good morning. The loss of loved ones is such a hard thing to talk about, especially with children. This morning Wendy Johnstone is hear to help us all learn a bit more about helping our children deal with the passing of a grandparent. Here she is: I think it’s safe to say, “Death [...]
A Time To Remember
Good Morning. May we all take a moment today and remember those who have gone before us and lost their lives in service to Canada. May this solemn day remind us all to cherish our lives and honor them. We remember. In Flanders Fields By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918) Canadian Army In Flanders [...]
A Peek Inside A Celebration of Comox Valley Spirit
The day didn’t necessary start off on the brightest foot. Rain, rain, rain – that was the forecast for Sunday. But, with a 40X40 heated tent, happy spirits and a sense of creative flexibility we headed out for a day of celebrating our heritage. Thankfully, the sunshine made an appearance just about the time we [...]
Haunting History – Cumberland's Bickle House
Editor’s Note: Happy Halloween. We’re launching a great new occasional feature here on OBE and what better way to dig into the stories and places that make up the history of the Comox Valley than with a tale of our own local haunted house. Valley newcomer and seasoned writer Matthew Wright kicks our history feature [...]
Grand-Parents – Aging With Dignity
Editor’s Note: This morning we have Wendy Johnstone on site discussing aging with dignity and all those myths that tag along with aging. On Sunday, Our Big Earth is lending a hand with the Walk of Dignity at the Filberg Park and Heritage Lodge in Comox to help connect children to grandparents and grandfriends, also [...]
The Greatness of Grandparents & Grandfriends
Editor’s Note: This morning we have Wendy Johnstone on site reminding us of the value of grandparents and grandfriends. Here she is: A note from Wendy to readers: My trip to Toronto was fantastic – thank you for the well wishes. I have to admit I was greatly relieved that the garbage strike was over by [...]
The Greatness of Grandparents & Grandfriends
Editor’s Note: This morning we have Wendy Johnstone on site reminding us of the value of grandparents and grandfriends. Here she is: A note from Wendy to readers: My trip to Toronto was fantastic – thank you for the well wishes. I have to admit I was greatly relieved that the garbage strike was over by [...]
Traditions for Long-Distance Grandparents
Editor’s Note: Today we have Wendy Johnstone discussing long-distance grandparenting. Here she is: It’s been a flurry of activity and excitement for Carly around our house for the past 3 weeks. (Actually, if any of you know me personally, there’s never a shortage of excitement and flurry in our house). However, the charge in our house [...]
Food Through the Generations
Editor’s Note: Bite-Sized Specialty Foods is going to be at Brambles from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. today. There is some serious yumminess going on, so I would head in the direction of downtown Courtenay and check it out. I would also like to encourage you to take some time out at Noon today and [...]
Connect Kids to Grandparents-Living Legacy
“What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson As my great-Aunt Adelaide would say, “My cup runneth over”. It was an honour and a privilege to read your comments and stories about your own grandparents last month. Thank you for sharing [...]
Grand Parents – A Love That Defines Generations
Editor’s Note: Good Morning. I am over the moon to have Solutions for Seniors Eldercare Planning’s Wendy Johnstone here this morning to kick off our new Grant Parents column. Wendy brings with her a lovely, warm, soulful perspective on learning, love and compassion through the generations and I am truly honoured that she has agreed [...]
Sunday Morning Walks – Time to Tide Pool
The starfish are calling. I’m totally serious, they’re wondering where all of the humans are. They’ve finally come up for some air after a long, chilly Winter under water. So, it must be time for us to dig out the wellies and head for the waves… or at least the low tide line. This is [...]
Family Craft – Your Animal Family Genealogy
As my belly gets bigger, there are TONS of questions about how families are made and our ongoing “Family Tree” project expands, I found myself a little stumped recently when working out age-appropriate ways to talk with our 3.5 year old about families and who goes where. Traditional genealogy – packed full of research and [...]
Mommy Talk – The Grandparent Effect
Today is Grandma’s birthday. July happens to be a big month in the being born universe here (five family birthdays). And, Ken’s Mom kicks it all off in style. While I know she will be stomping up the stairs and kicking me in the head for announcing her big day in a public forum, she [...]
Rainy Day Survival Guide – Hit The Pool
I used to dream of pools. Big ones, that would take me what seemed like hours to swim the length of. Diving for pennies. Bobbing like a buoy. Sneaking a trip to the snack bar to eat Tangy Taffy until my teeth fell out. Except for the Tangy Taffy, pretty much nothing has changed. So, [...]
It's All About Dad – Learn to Fish
You don’t need to be a sportsman to love what a fishing pole does for a family. As a kid, some of the daddy-daughter moments I remember best are the fishing trips, sitting along mountain rivers, simply not worried at all about whether or not we got a single bite. Every time my pop dug [...]
