I somehow missed the memo that grandchildren grow up even faster than children! Life is teaching me anyway. My grandchildren are now teenagers, and only my stored photos and clear memories remind me of their births and early childhood. Fortunate to live very near these kids, I nonetheless am startled by how tall they have become. How did that happen? I can understand the response of my own grandparents to our changes since we only saw them every few years. (And of course there was no Facetime!) Somehow, though, I thought proximity would allow fewer jolts.
A New York filmmaker, Jay Rosenblatt, assigned himself a task of video interviewing his daughter each birthday from two to eighteen. He chose to wait until the series was done to view and edit the material. He has released it in a 28 minute film How Do You Measure A Year? I don’t know if it is distributed worldwide. I viewed it on HBO a paid platform. Trailers are available on line for free if you want a glimpse of the project.
Watching his lovely daughter grow, abandon her curls and her ebullience for long hair and a contemplative mien illustrated my own experiences in parenting and grandparenting. I don’t have nostalgia for the early years; the challenges are too clear in my mind. But there is a bittersweet sense watching the film and reflecting on my own life. For a brief time being a grandparent allows us to enjoy infancy and early childhood without being parents. But it too speeds by, just as the first time seemed to.
This poignant film captures the progression with care and love mirroring my own experiences.
Saved By Words 
Hi Elizabeth, nice to read from you after a long time. My dad says so too of his grandchildren. He spoils them.
How have you been?
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I am doing well. I didn’t realize that I no longer got your posts. I will check and see why.
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Oh! I can understand.
Good to hear from you😊
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I can’t find a place on your site to follow your blog. Let me know how to.
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Ok. Check on the home page. You will see subscribe to my blog. It asks for email. That should work.
Will be pleased to have you back in my corner😊
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Great. Have done.
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We are lucky to live quite close (28 miles north) to our grandchildren. But life still gets in the way of seeing them very often. Now we discover that our 8 year-old grandson takes the same size in shoes as his Nana, and his shoulder height is not that much less than mine. I see myself ageing as he grows. That is how it works in life, and as it should be.
Best wishes, Pete.
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The shoe size seemed to stay the same as mine for about 15 minutes before they shot on past! I agree that this is how life should be in terms of generations.
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I didn’t know one set and would rather not have known the other
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My grandchildren refer to my “nice grandmother” and my “mean grandmother.” One proved the truth that not all old ladies are kind!
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I know the feeling! Two of mine are teenagers, and fast becoming adults. It does go faster.
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The older is studying for the SAT test! It seems her mother just took them. LOL. By the way for some reason I stopped getting your posts. I just signed up again. Love the New England recipes. We just got our first produce distribution and so have things like strawberries and asparagus.
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Someone else told me they stopped getting my posts as well. More FB gremlins methinks!
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I needed three things with children and grandchildren — time spent with them, an excellent memory, and a simple camera always nearby.
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Absolutely. And you still have time with them. Wonderful gifts.
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Thank you for the heads-up on the film. My thoughts on grandchildren are just like yours. Today I finally booked a flight to see my grandchildren. It’s been over a year and a half. How can the oldest be 15, when a few years ago we were running to the playground and snuggled up reading aloud?
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I hope you have a great time together. 15 seemed to be a moody age here. May you enjoy the time no matter the adolescent phase!
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Thank you, Elizabeth!
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I love your memories about your grandsons, before you know it, they’ll be no longer teenagers but adults. I wish I have more but there is only Nate.
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Nate is just right. He is a real treasure for you. It is the quality of the grandchildren that matters I think.
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Well, he has no one to play with. He is learning to be responsible🥰
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That is a great trait.
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What a fantastic idea! I’m going to look for that. Our son turned 30 last November and just got married earlier this month. Thank goodness for your photographic evidence because I know from my own experiences that sometimes we forget these past events.
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Even more precious are some silly videos my grandchildren made with the ipad when they were little. They really capture their personalities “off camera.”
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Lovely! I still can’t get over how my gorgeous funny 2 year olds are now 19, 17 and 12… the oldest now has a beard!!! I look forward to having grandchildren but not to time zipping by – even though it is wonderful seeing how they develop.
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Great to hear from you. I will catch up with your writing soon. I haven’t yet had to accept a beard, just height a and a very deep voice. Startling enough for the moment.
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Lockdown emphasised this for me. My eldest grandson shot up and his brother became a schoolboy, practically overnight. The twins turned from babies to little people without me noticing.
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For us Covid seemed relatively short compared to how the kids grew and matured in the same span.
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Hi Elizabeth, I can certainly agree that children seem to grow up in the blink of an eye. My oldest is 20 and that feels incredible to me.
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The height and the voice deepening have been the most shocking to me too.
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Time goes ridiculously fast Elizabeth, I’m awaiting my first great grandchild! And all of my other older grandchildren are taller them I am now…although we still have some littlies 🙂
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Wow. I hope to live long enough for the great grandchildren. My granddaughter is determined that I will!
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Our grandson will be ten soon and granddaughter will be six in November. Time flies.
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Wow! I remember them so well from when we first read each others’ writing.
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