Possibilities Lost and Found

By Rick Fullerton | Bio

Being over sixty and having five grown children, it comes as no surprise that my wife and I look forward to grandchildren. Like many close-knit families, we treasure the time our kids have had with their grandparents. Visits to the island summer home in Mahone Bay or to my mother in Grand Lake offered life-shaping experiences when the extended family came to be together. These times were not just about having fun or creating enduring memories: they were unique opportunities to learn and grow individually and as part of a larger family.

Yet
reflecting on the place of grandparents in families and in our evolving
society raises several questions and possible insights. As a child, I
knew only three of my four grandparents—my dad’s father having died
many years before my birth. Similarly, none of our children even met my
dad as he died when I was 12. On the other hand, our two granddaughters
have all four grandparents and knew two of their great-grandmothers.

At
the other end of life’s spectrum,

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