Few of us will argue on the importance of getting together and spending time in each other’s company.Not only is gathering together enjoyable, but it also nurtures our relationships and promotes a sense of belonging and community. A simple walk in the woods with friends or family can leave you feeling inspired, rejuvenated and connected. In The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters, author Priya Parker has said that at the core of any gathering there should be a sense of purpose for coming together. With grandkids, that’s easy. Being together is purpose enough!And on an Island so rich with possible outings and adventures, there’s never any shortage of things to do.To that end, this issue of GRAND features articles on topics ranging from the best places on Vancouver Island to take family photos, moving well and aging gracefully, and cooling down with frosty treats, to being at your grandchild’s birth, the value of volunteering, and dispatches from the trenches of new grandparenthood. There’s 7 Grand, a compilation of ideas and inspiration to help keep you in-the-know and connected to community, there’s an article on becoming a grandparent during the pandemic, and there’s a profile on master carver Victor Newman and textile artist Edith Newman on the importance of family, conversation, leading by example, and the value of community involvement.
GRAND celebrates who you are as a grandparent and who you are as an individual. You love spending time with your grandchildren and you’re happy in your other roles: at work, in the community and on your own. We’re an active and diverse group—an engaged, evolving and powerful force. We’re mentors, nurturers, keepers of secrets. We’re caregivers, child care providers, dessert-before-dinner defenders. We’re historians, spiritual guides and the holders of family stories.