KINCARE SUPPORT

BONDING DURING A PANDEMIC by Gail Mitchell Gallagher

Published in the June 2020 issue of the Senior Times magazine.

Click HERE to read BONDING DURING A PANDEMIC in Senior Times.

Grandparents always seem to have great creative energy when it come to interacting with their grandchildren. I believe it just comes naturally. During this pandemic of 2020, it calls upon grandparents to be even more creative in their communication because we cannot be with our grandchildren. For me, this has been the most painful experience of shelter-in-place. However, shelter-in-place is important because I don’t want to expose my grandchildren to the virus, and they don’t want to expose me to the virus. So, what do we do?

Well, let’s begin with brainstorming. A few weeks ago, as I was in my serious brainstorming mode, my grandsons Jaden and Jensen Facetimed me. We had a great time laughing and getting caught up on what everyone was doing. They had written some short stories and wanted to read them to me. Listening to them was great fun and so entertaining, but before we hung up, there awaited a surprise for me. I was not prepared for this, but now it is what it is. After they finished reading their stories to me that night, their next words to me were, “Now Nana, you have to write stories for us!” Oh my, was I surprised. I could see that my occasional boredom was about to fly out the window and fun was about to begin.

After thinking about my grandson’s request and wondering how I could contribute to this apparent “reading and writing club,” I could not believe how many stories for little ones were inside of me. The more I began to write, the more addicted I became to writing stories that they could identify with. I began to think of their favorite cartoon characters, their favorite animals, their favorite things to do. Just as many things I could think of. I would incorporate their names and make-believe scenarios in the stories. And amusing titles were a must. To date, 20 plus stories have been written. That’s amazing!

The best thing of all is to see them wide-eyed and sitting very still while listening to each story. They are anticipating what will happen next, whose name will be mentioned? What make-believe adventure will Nana think of next? The facial expressions are the sweetest of all.

I’m sharing all this to say, “Grands, if you are bored, get out a notebook and pen and surprise your grandchildren with stories that will ignite their interest and instill in them a desire to also write stories for you.”

Bonds with grandchildren are formed in the most unusual ways and ties that bind are formed not only in the good times, but in the challenging times as well. During this pandemic, it is a very challenging time. Probably the most challenging time that we will ever remember. So, let’s make this time productive, and make each moment count. Take this opportunity to bond with your grandchildren in your very own special way.