Easter Fun

Grandma and Poppa had the fun of Easter when Gianna and Joey arrived (along with their parents, of course). Here they pause from plinking away at the piano keys to give Poppa a chance to add to his growing collection of grandchild images.

The Flower Girls, Again

Two more views of our granddaughters, who call themselves twins when they are together, and who were so wonderful as flower girls a week ago at our nephew's wedding. Love those special dresses!

Joey

Joey, who will turn four in August, is the other little boy whose smile brings another smile to Poppa's face.

Bobby

Nearly two, his smile lights up Poppa every time he sees it.

Grandparents Day

One of the high points in the life of a retired teacher is the chance to return to a classroom for 90 minutes to be spent with a grandchild. This year our visit to second grade can be seen in the beautiful smile Gianna shows, not only to us but to pretty much every one of her classmates.
Thanks for inviting us, Gianna!

Heritage Portraits

It was Grandma's idea, not mine, but it was a great idea. On the way to lunch with the four grandchildren, we took two portraits off the wall in the hallway. In the parking lot, we had the foursome place their hands on each of the portrait. With some post-processing, we now have photos of the great-grandchildren "in touch" with their heritage a generation older than we grandparents. We have the photos both with and without the names and we think that sometime in the future the grandchildren will like these as much as we do now.

And Bobby Makes Four

The highlight of the Memorial Day weekend for our family is certainly the birth of Robert Joseph Bradley Beato, our fourth grandchild and second grandson. Born early Saturday morning in Boston, Bobby completes a symmetrical family for us: two children and two pairs of grandchildren, with one boy and one girl in each pair. Bobby is the lucky little brother of Carolyn, just finishing her year of kindergarten at age six.

Congratulations to the proud parents, Eric and Erin, along with congratulations to the big sister Carolyn, and self-congratulations to the proud and happy grandparents.

Grandparents' Day

Kindergarten does not look the same as it did over 50 years ago when I attended it, nor the same as it did over 30 years ago when our children attended. The room is interesting and colorful, with places to sit and read, with interesting things to play with and listen to and read, and with charts and pictures all over the room.

They even have a collection of puppets, which appear to be ready to act out any story, and my granddaughter Gianna, who was pleased to have all four grandparents in attendance, showed us her favorite puppet, several of her friends, and her favorite books and games. It was a wonderful morning for all, especially for the grandparents.

Restoration as a Labor of Love

A true baby boomer born in late 1946, I have wonderful memories of my grandmother, the mother of my mother. Mom went back to work as a personal shopper at the fabled Marshall Field's and I spent all day with my Grandma. It has always seemed to me that she cared about me more than she cared about anyone (which may not be true but is a wonderful impression to have!) She passed away over 29 years ago and I still think of her lovingly and kindly just about every day.

When I came across the heirloom portrait, completely torn in half and carefully saved as it was, I knew that if I ever got confident in Photoshop, I would make a project out of restoring that photograph. It showed a woman I had never met, of course, young and slim and looking forward to the bulk of her life. Beautiful? Of course, I could never see anything other than beauty. And I wanted to have a complete portrait of her to cherish and to pass on to my children and grandchildren.

I put no time clock on the project. I spent as much time as I needed. And I was pleased to send complete matte-finish portraits to my son and my daughter and to my brother and my sister. I know that somehow, in heaven, my dear Grandma Angela has always known my love and respect for her. And now you know it too.