Tag: #grandparents

Hot Cocoa Blessings

Posted on December 3, 2025 by JANET L BARKER

Exhausted. Euphoric. Somewhat crippled. Grateful. At peace. These are my emotions as I wait to board the plane at JFK, bound for the Southland and in a few days the Central Coast of California. I’ve been here for a little more than two weeks,… Continue Reading “Hot Cocoa Blessings”

Category: UncategorizedTags: #christmas, #grandchildren, #grandparents, #hotcocoa, #littlekids, #love, #newyorkcity, #sentimental, #writing, family, life, love, memories

Princess for a week

Posted on February 9, 2025 by JANET L BARKER

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I poured my cousin’s prune juice into my coffee this morning. The cabin was dark, and I was stunned out of a glorious sleep-in sleep by room service or a stewart (not so sure what staff is called on a giant cruise vessel). Shadowy… Continue Reading “Princess for a week”

Category: UncategorizedTags: #adventure, #cruise, #cruiselife, #cruisingintoretirement, #enjoyinglife, #feelinggood, #grandparents, #hope, #lifeizgood, #livingthevidaloca, #love, #loveeverymoment, #princesscruise, #retiredteacher, #retirement, #travel, @retirement, cruises, cruising, cruisinggrandmas, cruisingwithfriends, cruisingwithfriends, happinessisprincesscruise, princess-cruises

Just one more day….

Posted on August 23, 2024 by JANET L BARKER

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It was just the start of Summer. The boys were out of school and we had six weeks of exciting adventures ahead of us. And now it’s back to school and in a month, it will be Fall. Each season is welcomed, necessary, but… Continue Reading “Just one more day….”

Category: UncategorizedTags: #California, #education, #grandparents, #hope, #love, #retirement, #teaching, love

And so it begins …

Posted on August 8, 2024 by JANET L BARKER

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I’m here, by my lonesome, which isn’t so lonesome, in the shade beneath my awning, typing away, tummy filled with a healthy salad, a glass of Albarino half-sipped, sunscreen-slathered, listening to the crashing waves, sheltered in my cozy van, away from the summer tourists;… Continue Reading “And so it begins …”

Category: UncategorizedTags: #California, #camping, #findingjoy, #findingpeace, #grandparents, #hope, #joy, #love, #loveeverymoment, #retiredteacher, #solowomentraveler, #travelinggrandma, #vanlife

A Whole New World

Posted on February 17, 2024 by JANET L BARKER

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Waking up to snow when you’re a native Southern Californian, not in your own bed, but in the bed you’ve modified to make your own, feels as if I’m gazing out the window of Apollo 13: the glistening, marshmallow puffs of new fallen snow… Continue Reading “A Whole New World”

Category: UncategorizedTags: #diversitycounts, #embracediversity, #grandchildren, #grandparents, #hope, #immigration, #inclusivity, #loveeverymoment, #lovenothate, #lovetheyneighborsasthyself, #nyc, #retiredteacher, #winter, #winterinnyc

Breaking Bad and other News of the Day

Posted on January 13, 2024 by JANET L BARKER

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You’ve caught me in a Hope Diamond moment: I’m alone. In the apartment. Windows and blinds wide open—high winds and 30-degree temps be damned. I’m in short sleeves. Showered. Hair brushed. Pink lipstick applied. Perfume generously spritzed. Funny how simple acts can make you… Continue Reading “Breaking Bad and other News of the Day”

Category: UncategorizedTags: #breakingbad, #children, #daughters, #grandchildren, #grandmas, #grandparents, #hope, #mother-daughterrelationshipss, #newbabies, #newmexico, #newyorkcity, #nyc, #parenting, #retiredteacher, #whenitstimetogo, family, love, mama, mom, motherhood

Two weeks ago …

Posted on January 1, 2024 by JANET L BARKER

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It’s 1 a.m. and the apartment is quiet. The parents are taking their shifts, The Littles are in Dreamland and I’m two glasses into a new bottle of Rangeland Cabernet and the final season of “The Crown”. It’s raining outside and will do so… Continue Reading “Two weeks ago …”

Category: UncategorizedTags: #2024, #bestlifeever, #findingthegood, #god, #grandchildren, #grandma, #grandparents, #grassisntalwaysgreener, #hope, #joy, #parenting, #peace, aging, family, happynewyear, love, memories, newyearsresolutions

Born again

Posted on December 7, 2023 by JANET L BARKER

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Nov. 27, 2023: 8:50 p.m. Full moon Monday in New York City My daughter yells from her bedroom as her husband drills-in screws to hold up a curtain rod for the new beachy curtains she recently purchased to soften the paint-chipped 1960s windows in… Continue Reading “Born again”

Category: UncategorizedTags: #babies, #blessings, #daughters, #findinghope, #fullmoon, #grandparents, #gratitude, #hope, #loveeverymoment, #newgrandma, #newmommy, #newyorkcity, #nyc, #prayer, appreciation, birth, Christmas, family, following-god, love, mothers, newbeginnings, newbornbabies, peaceonearth, photos

Eternal flame

Posted on July 18, 2023 by JANET L BARKER

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This is the summer of wee ones. Under three. Over ten. And those in between. A gaggle of boys and one girl. My grandchildren, starting from the oldest, Jack, Bronson, Millie, and Hudson. Twinkling stars that light up my world. I’m here in New… Continue Reading “Eternal flame”

Category: #education, #grandparents, #teaching, @retirementTags: #almuratsuchi, #appletv, #bethechange, #caassembly, #climatechange, #congress, #eternalflame, #extrapolations, #globalwarming, #grandchildren, #grandparents, #heatwave, #hope, #inspiration, #JFK, #newyorksummer, #redondobeach, #sizzlingtemperatures, #tedlieu, #thewhitehouse, #unitednations

Demons and Saints

Posted on June 16, 2023 by JANET L BARKER

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What makes a person sit down and write versus not wanting to write? Time, not enough. Distractions, too many. Demons, and the opposite: Joy or lack thereof. The list of excuses goes on. What I know for sure is that when I take a few… Continue Reading “Demons and Saints”

Category: UncategorizedTags: #cambria, #camping, #campinggrandma, #forgiveness, #glamping, #grandparents, #grandsons, #hope, #love, #loveeverymoment, #retiredteacher, #retirement, #workinprogress

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