Several years ago I began taking yoga classes from Jackie Long, an extraordinary young woman. Her Sunday morning classes were always packed. I suspect it was because of the deep feelings of spirituality she created that almost felt like a religious experience. I always left her class with a sense of serenity and hopefulness.
I’ve attended two retreats with her and she continually inspires me with her wisdom, compassion and desire to make the world better for families. A year ago she invited me to participate in making a DVD called Yoga With Your Baby. My daughter, two granddaughters, and I joined several other families for a weekend last fall to make the video.
The DVD is now available and it’s beautiful. Jackie is dedicated to empowering parents with tools to help them move through parenthood more consciously.
In the video, she shows parents and grandparents fun ways to connect using simple mindfulness-based practices while exploring baby yoga poses. It’s great for babies and toddlers, ages 3 months to 4 years old. She created all the original music. There’s also a deep relaxation, breathing practice and meditation for parents and grandparents.
You can get a taste of the video by clicking on this link and viewing the trailer:
Yoga with Your Baby . If you look carefully, you’ll see Juliet lying on the floor, as Jackie shows her a yoga pose, and me doing yoga with Amelia. This video would make a wonderful gift for a new mother and father who want to connect with their baby more consciously.

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A year ago I attended the 70^th birthday celebration of a good friend. At his luncheon I sat next to an old high school classmate and told her about the GaGa Sisterhood, my social network for grandmas. Even though she wasn’t a grandma, she was very interested and wanted me to meet her friend, Joanne Bracco, who’d just started publishing Parenting on the Peninsula, a monthly journal for San Mateo County parents.

Several weeks later I met Joanne for lunch. We connected immediately with our similar goals of sharing information that enriches family life. She invited me to write a column for her publication. I wasn’t ready to commit to a column but agreed to write an article.
Joanne is also a grandma so I added her to my email list and started sending her my monthly GaGazine for grandmas who are looking for creative ways to connect with their grandchildren. That’s when she started her campaign to convince me to write a column.

One year later, in POP’s first anniversary issue, my family and I are all over the September issue. My husband, our daughter, son-in-law, two granddaughters and I are on the cover in a photo taken at Sharon Park. on page 3, Joanne introduces my new column, The Go-To Grandma on page 9, about National Grandparents Day. On page 11, there’s a feature story about the GaGa Sisterhood: Grandmas Take Active Role in Child Rearing, with a color photo by Mike Koozmin of me holding Amelia Kate, my eighteen-month old granddaughter.

You can download the September issue of Parenting on the Peninsula by clicking on the link: http://www.ponthep.com/ . I welcome your suggestions for topics you’d like to see in future columns.

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My five-year old granddaughter Juliet and I have a new favorite book called Mercy Watson to the Rescue. The title was appropriate the first time we read it. We were on the last half hour of our 200-mile drive to Pismo Beach. We’d listened to all eight books on tape and finished our deviled egg sandwiches and carrot sticks. Juliet didn’t want to play the alphabet game anymore and asked if I would read to her. So I got out Kate DiCamillo’s book and started reading aloud. We were engaged immediately.
The cover illustration is a cute pig that looks like a piggy bank running full speed across a lawn. Juliet loved the story and I loved Chris Van Dusen’s illustrations, which reminded me of vintage cartoons. DiCamillo has a wry sense of humor, uses sophisticated language and has such clever plots you can’t help but smile. Mercy Watson to the Rescue is the first in a series of five books about a pig who is the center of attention at the Watson home at 52 Deckawoo Drive. Mr. and Mrs. Watson consider their precious pig a “porcine wonder” and cater to her every whim, which includes preparing her tall stacks of “hot toast with a great deal of butter.”
The characters are continued in the next book, Mercy Watson Goes for a Ride, which is equally entertaining and has a delightfully different plot. Juliet and I both laughed out loud at the predicament that Mercy gets into when she decides to take the wheel of Mr. Watson’s car. The Lincoln sisters, Eugenia and her younger sister Baby, live next door and get involved in each story as do Ned and Lorenzo from the fire department.
Juliet asked me to read them over and over during the week. One morning we fixed ourselves a piece of “toast with a great deal of butter” and munched on it as we re-read the story. The language is so engaging we found ourselves repeating some of the phrases throughout the week. One day while we were driving Juliet piped up with “He’s a menace behind the wheel!” and “What folly!”

Newberry medalist DiCamillo is a great storyteller. You may recognize another of her books Because of Winn-Dixie, which was made into a movie in 2005. She’s written a series of chapter books, which are described on her website. Hope you enjoy them as much as we did. If you grandmas have any favorite books you read to your grandchildren, please send me the titles.

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