Forever Spring

More Grandmothers Are Like Snowflakes... No Two Are Alike: A Treasury of Wit, Wisdom, and Heartwarming Observations
by Janet Lanese

No one gives comfort, love, and laughter like a grandma can!

"Your grandma and your dog will always love you no matter what you do," says Matthew, age ten.

From the mouths of babes and grandmas comes this irresistible sequel to the beloved Grandmothers Are Like Snowflakes. Here is an all-new treasury of wise, witty, and wonderful sayings and advice from veteran grandmas, first-timers, and grandmothers-in-waiting--including such famous names as Sophia Loren, Maya Angelou, and Barbara Bush. Here are hilarious and heartwarming observations, plus wisdom for negotiating the sometimes delicate challenges of grandparenting.

Don't miss . . .

• The secrets of staying young with your grandchildren

• Grandma Jan's gentle but hard-won wisdom

• The fountain of youth--and other things only grandmas know

• What children really think about their grandmothers

And more!

You're never too old to become younger.
— Mae West

One positive advantage to age for me is that I have more time to smell the roses.
— Helen Hayes

Youth is transitory, but a youthful spirit need never grow old.
— Dr. Criswell Freeman

Love is the great beautifier.
— Louisa May Alcott

My niece, the weary mother of six, was asked one Sunday morning by the parish priest, "Well, Sue, what do you want your next one to be?"
"A grandchild," she snapped!
— Grandma Jan

There is a fountain of youth. It is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age.
— Sophia Loren

Does becoming a grandma
Leave you aghast?
I'm sorry to say
Life goes by that fast.

— Mary McBride

Though it sounds absurd, it is true to say I felt younger at sixty than I felt at twenty.
— Ellen Glasgow

Isn't it terrific that you don't have to look like a grandmother to be one?
— Grandma Jan

Whether you become a grandma in your mid-twenties or in your senior-citizen-discount years, it's unlikely you'll fit the stereotypical pink-faced, snowy-haired, cookie-baking, chubby old lady. Well, not until you've lived a few more decades at least.
— Patricia "Poppy" Smith

I was grossed out when I heard Grandma had a boyfriend at her age! With me and Dad, you'd think two men in her life would be all she could handle.
— Donald, age 12

One should never trust a woman who tells her real age. A woman who would tell that would tell anything.
— Oscar Wilde

The New-Millennium Grandmother
has switched from—

• polyester to denim
• bifocals to contacts
• cold cream to Retin-A
• sherry to merlot
• sedans to SUVs
• mobile homes to condos
• curlers to blow dryers
• manicures to silk or acrylics
• knitting to exercising
• banana splits to low-fat yogurt
• Niagara Falls to Las Vegas
• J.C. Penney to QVC
• Paul Newman to Mel Gibson
• homemaker to entrepreneur
• snail-mail to e-mail
— Grandma Jan

When the grandmothers of today hear the word "Chippendales," they don't necessarily think of chairs.
— Jean Kerr

What's an aging boomer to do? You can laser away your wrinkles, tuck your tummy, and make yourself look 25 again; but no matter what you do, there's still one thing that's going to remind you— and everyone else— that you're getting old.

It's that cute little kid following you around in the supermarket shouting, "Grandma, buy me some ice cream!"
— Armin Brott

Sometimes it's almost impossible for a grandmother not to look more glamorous than her daughter and daughter-in-law. Especially when the young mother's everyday attire is a stained T-shirt and faded blue jeans. We have much less responsibility, and more time and resources to look like a model from the cover of Modern Maturity. So when you go to visit your grandbaby, leave the cosmetics, jewelry, and the designer frocks at home. Have you ever tried to get sour formula out of a silk dress?
— Grandma Jan

A good feeling inside is worth more than a great beautician.
— Mother Teresa

In youth we learn. In age we understand.
— Marie Abner-Eschenbach

neighbor to little girl: "How old is your grandmother?"
little girl: "I'm not sure, but I think she's in the middle ages."
— Grandma Jan

My grandma refuses to divulge her age. She keeps telling me she's as old as her nose, and a little older than her teeth.
— Susan, age 13

Having the ability to love makes a big difference in staying young.
— Dinah Shore

A birthday is the one time that a grandmother wants her past forgotten and her present remembered.
— Grandma Jan

When my grandma gets all dressed up in a short skirt and high heels, she outclasses my mom. She has better legs.
— Samantha, age 16

Real grandmothers don't retire, and they don't fade away; they just get better.
— Therese McGee

The most challenging age for a grandmother is poundage.
— Grandma Jan

Excerpted from More Grandmothers Are Like Snowflakes... No Two Are Alike by Janet Lanese Copyright © 2002 by Janet Lanese. Excerpted by permission of Delacorte Press, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

About the Author

Janet Lanese is a perfect example of a grandmother of the nineties. She combines multiple careers as a real estate broker, a writer for her community newspaper, a co-hostess for a local television program, and a contributing editor for over thirty parenting and religious magazines. Janet Lanese lives in Castro Valley, California, and, even with her busy schedule, she finds time to enjoy her three grandchildren.