ABSTRACT
This chapter highlights some of the many roles that grandparents play in their families. Children can handle some of the disruption of death and grief, but they are sustained by routine, love, and some answers when they ask a question. Grandparents know the routine and are trusted by the children when a change is called for. In matters of tenure and experience, we might link that plant to the grandparents. The plant for the grandparent is transplanted into the same planter, with a gap in center for child or children. Each one gets his or her plant, young, ready to grow, and thriving on the rich soil providing nurture for the parents and grandparents. Like any group with a shared name or job description, there are both the markers we would expect to see in today's grandparents, some generalities and stereotypes that are both hurtful and harmful, and a multigenerational revolution set to define what we want in today's grandparents.
