Introducing Nona Nita

I have another grandma fresh off the grill and her name is Nona Nita.

Nita is a lovely grandmother of three, who put much thought and kindness into her responses to my Grilled Grandma questions. Here's one example:

What is one thing you wish you had learned earlier as a grandparent? I wish I had remembered earlier that the gift children like and appreciate most is the gift of undivided attention. I had learned this fact as a parent, but forgot about it over the years.

Please read Grilled Grandma: Nita and leave her a comment. Then show her extra special thoughtfulness by giving her blog a hit or two, as well (the link is at the bottom of her grilling).

Thank you for stopping by today! Happy Wednesday to one and all!

Today's (unrelated) question:

What is the oddest thing in your purse or wallet right now?

Straight from Italy ... and Trinidad

This week's Grilled Grandma, Mary, leads one of the most interesting lives of all the grandmas I've grilled. Mary is from the US, then she moved to Antigua several years ago. She now lives in the loveliest of places in Italy. And she visits her daughter, son-in-law and two gorgeous grandchildren in Trinidad, where she hikes near waterfalls and eats bananas straight from the tree. Oh, how glorious it sounds!

Mary leads a blessed life and humbly acknowledges her bountiful blessings. She's a lovely woman I'm honored to introduce to you in Grilled Grandma: Mary. After reading her grilling, head right over to Mary's blog (linked at the bottom of her grilling) to read all about the wonder-filled life she leads ... and loves ... and shares with the rest of us through fantastic photos and heartfelt posts. Enjoy!

Today's question:

Which would you most like to visit: Antigua, Italy, or Trinidad? Or is there another destination that tops your list?

Courage on the grill

Sometimes the nominations for Grilled Grandmas bring tears to my eyes. Literally.

This week's Grilled Grandma, Kelli, was grilled as the result of this sweet nomination from last week's Grilled Grandma, Deanna:

Dear Lisa,
I would like to introduce you to a Grilled Grandma who I believe deserves to be a ''Grilled Grandma Of The Year!'' This great person is the mother of five wonderful children and a Grandmother of one. Last spring she was diagnosed with breast cancer weeks before her grandchild was born. The day before her grandson's birth she was operated on, then went home to recuperate. The following day she learned her daughter-in-law was in labor and somehow this great person found her way to the hospital to be present at her grands birth!!!! She went through Chemo treatments for months, losing her hair, her energy, and then radiation, but still put her family first through it all!!!! I highly recommend Kelli to be a Grilled Grandma!!!!! She is my hero, my cousin and one of my best friends...

After reading Kelli's responses and a bit of her own personal blog, I wholeheartedly agree with Deanna.

Ladies and gents, I'd like to introduce to you Grilled Grandma: Kelli.

Today's question:

Who is the most courageous person you know?

Renaissance grandma

This week's Grilled Grandma, Deanna, does it all. She writes. She's a photographer. She does all the grandma things grandmas do. And she does them all well.

Yep, a true Renaissance grandma, if you ask me. But that's not what stands out the most to me about Deanna. There's something about each grandma I grill that touches my heart, and although Deanna writes (which I like to do) and takes photos (which I wish I could do better), it's not our commonalities that most moved me when reading Deanna's responses to my Grilled Grandma questions. It was this:

Other than the initial elation, what was your first concern upon hearing you would be a grandmother? The day my grandmother died was the same day I found out I was going to become a Grandmother myself … I cried with sadness one moment and then tears of excitement the next moment … Bitter/sweet.

Truly bittersweet. I can (thankfully) only imagine.

Please read Grilled Grandma: Deanna. Then head on over to check out the precious children's book she's written for her granddaughter, for which links are included at the bottom of her grilling.

Today's (unrelated) question:

Of all the outfits you currently own, describe the one that makes you feel like your best "you".

A guffaw and a new feature

All kids say cute things now and then. But sometimes the things they say are not only cute, they're downright hilarious.

Such is the case of a conversation between this week's Grilled Grandma, Gail, and one of her grandsons, which she shared in response to my question, "Describe a recent time that one (or more) of your grandchildren made you laugh out loud." Gail said:

One asked, "What is a prostitute?" I had to wallow that around a little and then answered, "When a lady makes a gentleman happy for money instead of for fun."  He said, "Oh, I thought it was a wooden leg!"

I'm not one for doing the whole "LOL" thing, but that one truly did make me laugh out loud when I read it. What I wonder is how in the world he thought such a thing. Maybe "prostitute" and "prosthetic" sound very similar in a little boy's head? Maybe?

Grilled Grandma: Gail offers up plenty more laughs, so prepare to LOL, ROFL, LMAO or whatever it is you do when confronted with online chuckles ... or snickers ... or flat-out guffaws. Don't hesitate to give Gail a smile in return -- by letting her know what you thought of her grilling. Comment love is always much appreciated here on Grandma's Briefs, especially for the lovely women who allow me to grill them.

NEW FEATURE: Once you're done LOLing, I urge you to take a look at the new feature I debut today on Grandma's Briefs. It's called News to Use.

As you can see on the navigation tabs at the top of this page, a News to Use page has replaced the Quotable Grandmas page (right next to the Grilled Grandmas tab). News to Use is where you'll find, as noted on that page, the "best-of-the-best ideas, activities, and info I glean from websites, blogs, magazines and more." Sometimes the news will be serious, sometimes fun, but always, I'm hoping, useful. I'll add News to Use tidbits as I come across them, so be sure to sign up for the News to Use RSS feed so you'll be the first to know when there are new tidbits to peruse, new news to use.

Oh, and for those two people who regularly read the Quotable Grandmas, I've not deleted it ... just moved it to the shadows of the site for now. You can find it right HERE.

Today's question:

What is the funniest book you've ever read?

Grilling grandmas and taking notes

I have a small handmade book I keep on my desk. It's a beautiful blank book, made and given to me by a dear friend.* On the pages of the miniature memento I record quotes, thoughts, sayings that speak to my heart. Yesterday, I added a few new ones to it.

The new points to ponder came from this week's Grilled Grandma, Linda. Her responses to my grilling questions included several seemingly simple statements that speak wisely to the ever-complicated role of grandma. That role is made even more challenging for Linda as she's yet another grandparent whose grandchildren live in her home, blurring the line between master of ceremonies, good times and celebrations and "mom."

Linda treads the line lightly and lovingly -- yet effectively -- and I'd venture to say it's because of ideas and adages such as these she offered up in her grilling, these I added to my special book:

"Mean people suck but you can ignore or laugh at their ignorance and that irreverence, in the right context, is the only way to roll."

"Life is terminal not serious."

"This kind of love is so precious it should be bottled and given to every soul on the planet…all problems would simply disappear. That is the power of this love."

That's just a smidgen of the sage sentiments from Grilled Grandma: Linda. Read her grilling then visit her blog (a link is at the bottom of her grilling). And if you have a special spot for recording words of wisdom and points to ponder, I urge you to write down a few from Linda ... she has lots to share, lots to spare.

(*Sadly, I've lost touch with that dear friend. You know who you are, and if you're reading this, drop me a line.)

Today's (unrelated in any way) question:

How many unpleasant incidents in one day does it take for you to label it "a bad day"?

A grandma to review ... and grill

As a blogger who (occasionally) posts book reviews, I often get approached by folks wanting me to read their books. Sometimes I turn down the authors (or PR companies), sometimes I take them up on the offer, and sometimes I ask if I can grill them.

Okay, I've asked only two writers if I could grill them. This week's Grilled Grandma, Carol, is one of those two.

Carol originally e-mailed me in December regarding her book, Who Gets To Name Grandma: The Wisdom of Mothers & Grandmothers. I told her I'd check it her book if she'd let me roast and toast her over hot coals. She agreed. I think I got the better end of the deal, thanks to all the great advice and info included in the book she sent me to review.

For "Who Gets To Name Grandma," Carol says on her blog, "I interviewed 40 mothers and grandmothers and asked them what advice they would like to give to each other and wrote a book about the experience." Carol organized the answers from the interviewees in chapters based on age (newborn through high school) and notes whether the advice came from a mother or a grandmother. Then Carol, aka Granny-Guru, follows up the quotes with sage advice and often humorous anecdotes from her own experience ... plus a bonus box on each filled with "Granny-Guru's Grains of Wisdom."

Although I disagree with some of the "advice" from grandmothers (there's one where the grandmother complains about getting in trouble with the parents when she "spanked my grandchild with a spatula for bad language," and Granny-Guru doesn't take her to task for the act), there are many nuggets o' gold sprinkled throughout. My favorite:

"Life gives feedback. Parents can't, nor should they protect a child from all of it. Where to draw that boundary of when to step in to prevent mistakes and when to allow a child to learn from life will always be a parent's challenge."

Amen to that, Granny-Guru!

Read Grilled Grandma: Carol for an up-close and personal look at this interesting writer. Then visit her website -- a link is included at the end of her grilling -- for more on author Carol Covin, aka Granny-Guru.

Today's question:

What is one adage, quote, piece of advice or nugget of wisdom you turn to again and again ... and/or share with others again and again? For example, one of my favorites is "The key to patience is finding something to do in the meantime."

Last of the Grilled Grandmas ... for 2010

Fifty-one amazing grandmothers have been featured as Grilled Grandmas this past year, and the final one of 2010, Monique, is just as amazing as all who came before her.

Monique is one of the most special of Grilled Grandmas, though: a grandma nominated for a grilling by her daughter.

The first part of November, I received the following e-mail from Monique's daughter, Casie:

"My mom is an awesome nana. I want u to write about her. U can see how much she loves my son :)"

I wasn't sure what to expect, considering the short request. Nominations to grill a loved one usually go on and on, as if the nominee has to earn the spot as a Grilled Grandma. But Casie's short and sweet nomination did the trick, and I e-mailed Monique ... who proved to be just as sweet and awesome as her daughter said.

I grill so many grandmas who have gaggles of grandkids and very few who have just one, as Monique does. And as I do (until late May 2011, at least). So I think it's splendidly fitting to close out the year with Grilled Grandma: Monique, whose poignant responses highlight the love of a grandma who's still relatively new to the position and remind us all of the wonder, delight and just sheer GRANDness of being a grandmother.

Thank you to Grilled Grandma: Monique. And thank you to all the grandmas I've grilled up in 2010. You've been splendid subjects! I look forward to those I've got lined up for 2011, and hope you do, too.

And don't forget: If you would like to honor a grandma in your life by nominating her for a grilling, follow Casie's lead -- one short and sweet e-mail is all it takes. Of course, if you want to list all the reasons your nominee deserves the grilling, I'm happy to accept those nominations, too. Either way, send your nominations to me HERE.

Today's question:

If you could magically delete -- or rewrite -- one month of 2010, which would you choose?

Grilled Grandma: The friend I've yet to meet

This week’s Grilled Grandma, Jeanie, has been a regular visitor to Grandma’s Briefs for quite some time now. When she comments, her remarks lean more toward warm and wise than wacky and witty. Which is why it took me by surprise when Jeanie gave the funniest answer yet to my question of, “What is one word you hope your grandkids think of when they think of you?”

Her reply: “’Alive’ is a good one for now.”

Too funny ... and too true!

Whether she meant to or not, Jeanie further exposed her sense of humor with her advice to new grandmas, saying (in part), "Don't try to compete with other grandparents and especially don't try to compete with blogging grandmas. There is no way that I could ever keep up with all the craft creating,  granny camping, goody bag toting, cookie baking grandmas I read about on blogs."

Her unexpected yet honest responses have brought Jeanie close to my heart. Surprisingly, she's also quite close to me in proximity, too. We recently learned we live only a couple hours apart. Yet even with a relatively short distance between us, Jeanie and I have never met in real life. I’m hoping to one day remedy that, maybe plan to meet somewhere between my place and hers to share a cup of coffee and – imagine this! – face-to-face conversation. And giggles, I'm sure.

It may not be the same as meeting her in person, but I do hope you’ll take the time to meet Jeanie online via her Grilled Grandma: Jeanie feature. She’s a sweet woman and I’m honored to call her my friend … a friend I’ve yet to meet.

Holiday question of the day:

Are you more likely to give someone a gift that they really want or a gift that you think they really need?

Non-blogging grandmas like comments, too!

Here in the blogosphere, it's sometimes easy to forget that not all grandparents have blogs, that there are more grandparents out in the real world than the relative few represented online. Many of the grandmas I feature as grilled grandmas have websites of one sort or another, and I do love showcasing them and their sites, doing my little bit to promote the grandparenting presence on the web.

Yet Grilled Grandmas isn't only about grandmas who blog and tweet and Digg and Stumble. It's about all grandmas, whether they have a blog or not, all the fine women who make a difference in the lives of those around them, especially the lives of their grandchildren.

This week's Grilled Grandma, Sandy, is one of the latter, making a huge and happy difference in the lives of two wee ones named Liam and Mary. In describing her experience with her grandkids, Sandy also makes a difference in our lives, with the bits of wisdom she shared in thoughtful responses such as this:

"Grandkids are for having fun. Don’t sweat the small stuff like stains on your carpet or marks on your table. Those things are temporary but love is forever."

Read Grilled Grandma: Sandy for more words of wisdom from this week's featured grandma. Don't hesitate to leave her a comment while you're there, too. Even though comment love pales in comparison to the love she gets from Mary and Liam, sweet words from the Grandma's Briefs gang will surely warm Sandy's heart -- something folks in most parts of the country can certainly appreciate during our recent cold snap.

Holiday question of the day:

During the rush of the holiday season, which regular chore, activity, or discipline do you tend to neglect the most?