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LEARN HOW TO MAKE OUR TYPE LARGER

	Just a thought
	Betty Lammers

Reinventing grandma
Published July/August 2002

Grandma on bike

I remember my grandmother. She was what used to be called "stout", wore a housedress and an apron, and was soft and cuddly when I sat on her lap. She always had some homemade cookies to give us with a glass of milk and thought we were just perfect.

You just don't get away that easily nowadays being a grandmother. You can't be "stout" anymore. It just isn't cool. Today, grandmothers are eating tofu, going to the spa and lifting weights. They are in jeans and sweats and are power-walking. And, thanks to Lady Clairol, there are very few gray-haired ones around anymore.

Grandfathers, on the other hand, seem to have lower standards. They can put on their swim trunks, look in the mirror and suck in their gut and be very pleased (even if there is a beer belly bulging out). However, lately the media has begun to put pressure on the males, too. There are a lot of diets and health spas vying for their attention and they are stressing health. You now see more treadmill walking and weight lifting for men. And perhaps, many more than we are aware of have used a bit of Grecian Formula.

It seems that sometimes our society pushes this "pro-youth" idea a little too far. I did a double-take recently when I saw an ad in a small local paper suggesting that you give a gift certificate for Mother's Day and it was for cosmetic surgery. How thrilled would any mother be to receive that? The ultimate insult!

There is one thing that hasn't changed over the years. Every grandparent believes their grandchildren are the nicest-looking and smartest of all the others they see. I know mine are.

E-mail Betty Lammers at betty@homefrontmagazine.com.

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