ABSTRACT
Being a grandparent provides another unique opportunity for self-reflection, adult development, and new resolutions of interpersonal and intra-psychic difficulties. Grandparents have the occasion to repair enduring vestiges of ruptures with their adult children and to form deeply satisfying relationships with their grandchildren. This is part of the ongoing, intergenerational magic of parenthood. This chapter includes a description of the grandparent role whose advice is sought, if not tinged with criticism, and whose wisdom is welcomed, if not imposed. A brief vignette highlights a special game that a grandmother and her 10-month-old granddaughter played: a game that symbolizes the pleasures in discovering the treasures of the inner world.
The letter to the author’s grandchildren, the first words written of Parenting and Childhood Memories, is included.
