Welcome working grandparents and friends. I'm excited to start this blog and hope to get many working grandparents to share ideas, successes and challenges about how we can be manage our work and our passion for grandparenting. Since joining the "grandparents club" seven years ago, and working in a profession that focuses on how to help employees integrate their work and personal lives, I have been in the fortunate and enviable position of having the flexibility to get my work done in a way that allows me to spend quality time with my two fabulous grandchildren - driving them to preschool, picking them up from school, going on field trips, sharing my business travels with them so they learn more about the world, going out to lunch (Friendlies seems to be the favorite location for them right now!!), etc.
My early career and background is in child care so it's really not surprising to my family and friends that merging my work and personal life is critically important to me and feeds my soul. Although many of you probably don't have a child care background... I've spoken to enough new baby boomer grandparents to suspect that many of us are looking for ways to have every experience we can have... work, family, grandchildren and opportunities to give back to the community. I'm positive that we can have it all if we put our minds to it - and here's a little glimpse of how I've re-arranged my life and work this summer.
Starting at the end of June, I decided to use the economic downturn and slower than normal business environment to turn a difficult reality into an opportunity. So, my grandchildren and I have been having Grammy days during the week. The kids get to sleep over one night during the week (which gives my daughter and her husband a free night - an added bonus) and then the grandkids and I get to do something special once a week. I've spent the summer looking for new, interesting and inexpensive things to do - engaging the kids in helping us figure out what we'll do. I can't tell you how much my heart swells when they ask when the next Grammy day will be!
We've done some really fabulous things this summer - from picnics at the park to more formal activities like going to the zooquarium (yes, it's a fabulous little gem in West Yarmouth!). Although these are difficult times, I feel like I've taken control of what's important to me which translates into more energy and passion for all aspects of my life - including my work.
I'd love to hear all of your ideas and thoughts about how you are managing work and grandparenting. Does your job allow you to move easily into the next phase of your career by offering flexibility to get the job done AND be able to spend quality time with your grandchildren?
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