Fostering the Important Bond with

Growing up I had a close relationship with my grandparents and have wonderful memories of our time together. My grandma loved to teach me about plants, to play card games, and to cook together. My grandpa took me camping, fishing, and was always sneaking us extra dessert. Grandparents and their grandchildren have a special bond. This will look different for each family but there are some ways you can strengthen the bond between you and your grandchildren.

Time spent together will help grandparents and grandchildren to bond naturally. This will look different for each family, but some ideas could include cooking together, running errands, attending the child’s sporting events or school activities, going to the park, playing board games, going to a movie, sitting and talking, or going out to dinner. Some grandparents find that having a set time assures they have time with their grandchildren. For example, every Saturday morning you go to breakfast or every Tuesday you babysit while the parents have a date night. If you do not live in the same city, try using a phone or video call at a set time each week. The nice thing about weekly calls is that it allows for follow-up on things the next week. If you are struggling with things to talk about with your grandchild, send their parents a quick text asking them for some ideas for talking points. Maybe they had a big math test, a soccer game, or a playdate with a friend. A little extra effort on the part of both the parent and grandparent can help strengthen the bond between grandkids and grandparents, even from a long distance.

A common source of conflict between parents and grandparents can be discipline of children. Grandparents may have different disciplinary styles or feel different behaviors deserve reprimanding. In most situations, parents should be responsible for any discipline needed. This allows grandparents to enjoy the fun aspects of time with the grandkids. When bringing up the subject, be kind and patient and explain that you don’t want anything to come between you and the grandkids and affect the special relationship they have. If discipline must be handled by the grandparents, try to stay as close to the parents' disciplinary style as possible or delay punishment for when the parents return.

Grandparents love to spoil their grandkids with treats, gifts, and love. Check in with the parents and make sure they are comfortable with any treats and gifts you may give. When everyone is on the same page, your child can feel loved, spoiled, and accepted by both their parents and grandparents. My kids know that when they spend the night with my parents, they will have donuts for breakfast the next morning. They can also count on any number of sweet treats while they are visiting. When their birthday comes around, they usually get spoiled by gifts from their grandparents as well. At home, sweet treats are limited, toys are purchased on occasion, and donuts for breakfast are not the norm. While I may be cringing at the sugar induced coma that my kids will be in when they come back home, the kids feel a closeness to their grandparents for allowing them to have a few extra treats. They feel like they share a secret, that really isn’t a secret at all, with their grandparents and it goes a long way to strengthening their bond. That, to me, is worth allowing a few extra treats from their grandparents on occasion. When presented this way, most parents and grandparents can come to a compromise everyone is happy with.

All of these things can help build the grandparent-grandchild bond but if the parents are not comfortable with what is going on, it will end up creating anger, resentment, and possibly damaging the relationship between the grandchildren and their grandparents in the long run. Set limits that everyone understands and can live with. For example, it is okay for grandparents to break the rules and let the kids have ice cream for dinner but it is not okay for them to ride in the car without a car seat. Make sure that the child, the parent, and the grandparents know what the family’s unbreakable rules are so that everyone is on the same page.

Grandparents are important because they have life experience and love to share them with their grandchildren. They have the opportunity to share their love and time without the pressures parents face in raising children. Kids who have grandparents in their lives can count themselves lucky, foster and build this relationship as much as possible. Your grandkids will cherish the memories for their lifetime, and so will you.

Sarah Lyons is a mom of six children, including triplets. She was blessed to have four living grandparents in her life until she was in her forties and appreciates the role her parents and in-laws play in the lives of her children.

Back in 2020, a bizarre news story described a man in France who, while in pursuit of an annoying fly, apparently ignited leaking gas with a spark from an electric flyswatter and demolished part of his home in the resulting explosion. for my cooking. But I have found the electric swatter quite useful on larger airborne pests such as wasps, immobilizing them to make removal quite efficient. They are also effective on cockroaches, notoriously difficult to catch as they speed skate across a surface to elude capture.

My mother also detested the flying nuisances, especially when they inevitably circled our table just as the food arrived. While she wielded the traditional plastic flyswatter with laser-like precision, she was not opposed to emptying half a can of fly spray in the dining room killing both an elusive fly and our tastebuds under a suffocating cloud of aerosolized insecticide. The commercial flyswatter originated in 1900 when an Illinois man patented a consumer version, while the high-tech electric swatter is generally credited to a Taiwanese inventor in the mid-1990s. As discoveries go, the printing press, electric light bulb, and wheel are often cited among humanity’s best. Perhaps. But you can’t take down a single house bug with any of them. Despite my mother’s aversion to fancy gadgets, when electric swatters became popular in the late 90s, I bought several and presented her with one for Christmas. A simple device delivering up to 3,000 volts, a low current makes them harmless to humans although they can deliver a

surprising jolt. Shaped like a mini tennis racket, you simply push a button on the handle just before making contact with the aerial invader resulting in a loud and satisfying ‘zap!’ as it plummets earthward on its dying scorched descent. Mom toyed with her new device a few times that Christmas, but after accidentally zapping another family member, the shock was too much – for both of them – so we encouraged her to resume her traditional insect massacring methods. Although contemporary models include a safety mesh preventing human contact with the wiring, I continue to brandish my original electronic bug slayer with delight and still consider it one of the most ingenious household inventions. However, I rarely use mine for flies which only make sporadic appearances around mealtime. Apparently, they have no taste Of course, if you’re fast enough, you can always impede a roach’s progress with a regular flyswatter or other heavy weapon in hand, but they tend to ‘explode’ when whacked, discharging a mass of insect entrails that can turn even the most robust stomach. But after one touch from the nifty zapper, the stunned roaches can be easily scooped up for disposal.

While bugs may be less common in December, that hasn’t prevented me from giving more as Christmas gifts over the years. With the exception of my mother, most recipients have safely added them to their bug-fighting arsenal throughout the year.

We lost Mom some time ago, but she would have surely applauded that Frenchman’s dedication to fly eradication (while scolding his failure to recognize gas seepage). I’m convinced if there were flies in heaven when she arrived, it’s a no-fly zone now.

Nick Thomas teaches at Auburn University at Montgomery in Alabama, and has written features, columns, and interviews for many newspapers and magazines. See www.getnickt.org.

These bacon Brussels sprouts are easy to make and tossed with an irresistible drizzle of hot honey. It’s savory, it’s smoky, it’s sweet, it’s spicy…it’s the side dish destined to steal the show at your next dinner.

A statewide industry group has named Executive Chef Eric Rivera of Vintage Hospitality Group in Montgomery its Chef of the Year for 2022. Rivera is the head chef behind Montgomery concepts including downtown's new Ravello Ristorante, Cloverdale's Vintage Year, Vintage Cafe, and Red Bluff Bar on the riverfront. Ravello hosted more than 12,000 reservations in its first few months, and a new rooftop bar, Bar Attico, opened this week above the restaurant.

The award was presented this week by the Alabama Restaurant and Hospitality Association, which represents more than 1,200 members. In naming Rivera its top chef, AHRA also noted his community involvement and donations to nonprofits across the area.

"Rivera’s vision, entrepreneurial drive, and leadership capacity were essential to bringing Vintage Hospitality Group’s newest endeavor, Ravello Ristorante, to fruition despite the persistent and monumental obstacles posed by the pandemic," AHRA stated.

Last year, the association named Vintage Hospitality Group proprietor Jud Blount its Restauranteur of the Year. This year Blount was a finalist for ARHA's Humanitarian Award.

On a bright, cold Sunday, November 13, 2022, St. John’s Episcopal Church in downtown Montgomery offered a beautiful liturgy of healing, hope and remembrance. Participants were surrounded by hundreds of hand-crafted ceramic poppies from the Julianne Hansen Fine Art and Pottery’s (Prattville) “Alabama Poppy Project.” The participants also displayed paper poppy pins, many of which came from the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 96 of Montgomery.

Known as “Remembrance Sunday” in England, St. John’s is one of the few churches in the United States that has a liturgy specifically directed to Veteran’s Day. St. John’s Rector, the Reverend Doctor Duncan Johnston, was ordained in the Church of England and spent his early career in England. St. John’s Associate Rector, the Reverend Doctor Deonna Neal, is an Air Force Academy graduate and studied at Oxford University. Both have a deep appreciation for the gravity and hope of Remembrance Sunday. Duncan Johnston stated that St. John’s Remembrance Sunday service is a “wonderful reminder of not just those who have died to make us free, but also to pray for where there is war now.”

St. John’s has always been a welcoming place for members of the military as well as their family and friends. Among the participants in Poppy Sunday were Priscilla Cromellin Ball, Priscilla Crommelin McMullen and John Tyler McMullen, the daughter, granddaughter, and great grandson of the deceased Naval Captain Quentin Crommelin. Captain Crommelin was one of the five famous Crommelin brothers all of whom served as naval aviators in World War II. Two of the brothers died in combat. Events like Poppy Sunday remind us what was, and is, at stake in the defense of the freedoms we hold dear.

The Montgomery County Archives (MCA), a division of the Montgomery County Probate Court, has begun a new project to collect funeral programs. Funeral programs represent important historical records for several reasons. First, they record the life of the person who passed away. Funeral programs document the humanity of the deceased and serve as a monument to the departed. Second, funeral programs serve as testimony that the community collectively mourned the death and celebrated the life of the person that passed away. Third, funeral programs constitute uniquely rare records. Each funeral program created stands as an individual record never to be recreated. For that reason, funeral programs are especially important to collect and preserve. Lastly, funeral programs serve as extremely helpful records to those conducting research, especially African American genealogy and family research.

If your institution has funeral programs, please consider donating them to the MCA. The MCA is a modern archive with over 7,000 square feet of secure archival storage space. The MCA not only intends to preserve the physical copies of the funeral programs it receives, it also plans to digitize the programs and make them available online. Please consider donating programs in your possession and help preserve this important part of Montgomery County history. If you have questions about the project, or the MCA, please contact Montgomery County archivist Dallas Hanbury at (334) 832-7173 or by email at dallashanbury@

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On view now through February 26, 2023, BOUNDLESS demonstrates how artists and their works of art can expand our world and evoke a sense of joy—becoming a needed balm for the continued challenges we all experience.

Created specifically for the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, BOUNDLESS features six gallery transforming installations by artists from around the country. The works break free from the constraints of traditional frames and pedestals by spanning across walls into the rooms themselves, projecting into the galleries, or hanging from the ceilings. Each artist combines everyday objects and traditional materials, drawing not on paper but in the space itself. These installations playfully engage us while exploring concepts like memory, identity, consumerism, and notions of home.

Director Angie Dodson says, “We urge you to accept these artists’ invitations to explore and celebrate boundlessness, the unbridled nature of imagination. In doing so, a memory of a past experience might return to you; perhaps your sense of wonder from childhood will be stirred; you may be able to solve a long-stuck problem. Encounters with creativity and creatives can do that for us... when we let them.” To learn more visit www.mmfa.org

In its 11th year, the YMCA of Greater Montgomery’s annual Golf Classic brought together some of central Alabama’s strongest community leaders and supporters to raise over $82,000 to benefit the Historic Cleveland Ave YMCA. Hundreds gathered at the Wynlakes Golf and Country Club on October 24th for the annual Golf Classic to strengthen the foundations of our community. Because of generous supporters who gave to the YMCA golf tournament, we can continue to serve over 500,000 meals a year to children year-round at our YMCAs and our mobile feeding unit called the Brown Bag Bus, as well as scholarship children and families in our community. These scholarships provide access to YMCA memberships, afterschool care (so that parents can continue to work),

YMCA of Greater Montgomery Board Chair General Edward Crowell and YMCA of youth sports, and summer camps. In addition, scholarships Greater Montgomery President and CEO Gary Cobbs provide year-round swimming lessons at the Historic Cleveland Ave indoor pool, preventing drownings in a community where access to water is prevalent. “It was another incredibly successful tournament,” said Gary A. Cobbs, President/CEO of the YMCA of Greater Montgomery. “With you, it’s 100 percent about raising money for the great work we do in our community, and everybody had a great time in the process.”

Celebrate 30 years of family tradition with a new spectacular scene on the lake, 10 million twinkling lights and 2,500 acres of Christmas cheer! A beloved Christmas tradition shines even brighter! This season, experience the NEW Celebration Lake, a floating spectacular featuring 30 dancing trees honoring 30 years of Fantasy In Lights! Surround your family with Christmas cheer when you walk, drive and celebrate the bigger and brighter Fantasy In Lights, one of National Geographic’s Top 10 Light Displays in the World! This holiday season, we invite you to one of the best family activities near Atlanta. Step out of your car and into the All-New Callaway Christmas Village! Wander through an immersive Winter Wonderland where you’ll explore a forest of twinkling lights and larger-than-life Christmas scenes featuring towering nutcrackers and gigantic snowflakes! Next, stroll through a forest of perfectly decorated trees on Christmas Tree Lane and stop for seasonal snacks and character meet-and-greets at the Christmas Market! The fun continues with our classic drive-through experience, now featuring an enchanting Tunnel of Lights! Journey through the beloved seven-mile Fantasy In Lights Enchanted Forest, where festive music fills the air and the mesmerizing Magical Field of Lights returns to delight your family for another year. Make the most out of your magical night of lights with an overnight stay in a cozy Cottage, Villa or The Lodge & Spa. Capture the spirit of the season with a visit to Fantasy in Lights at Callaway Resort & Gardens today. Learn more at www.callawaygardens.com

All it took was a worn-out and wooden kitchen stool.

When Patricia “Sister” Schubert was a child, she climbed onto a rickety stool and helped her grandmother, whom she called Grammy, make bread rolls. She learned from an early age that food not only fills your hungry stomach but has the power to bring families together. Since 1989, folks from all walks of life have come together over Sister Schubert’s rolls, a staple at many Southern dining tables.

Sister—she got that nickname because in childhood, her older sister had trouble pronouncing her name—sat in a comfortable chair at her beautiful antebellum home in Andalusia, Alabama, to tell the story of her famous rolls. A charming woman with a gentle demeanor and endearing eyes, she carries herself with the poise of someone who’s not in a hurry, another Southern attribute she embodies. Her smile is genuine, and her humility is magnetic.

“I grew up baking and cooking and loved every bit of it. Later, I studied interior decorating and worked with my father, but my love for cooking never waned,” Sister said. “In the spring of 1989, my church in Troy held a food fair, and I made Grammy’s rolls. The next year, we made many more and froze them after baking. When they thawed, they tasted like they were just made. That was when Sister Schubert Rolls were born.”

Sister sold her rolls at church. Then, she converted half of her father’s warehouse into a bakery, outfitted with machines. A year later, the bakery was making 1.5 million rolls a day. After another expansion, it was producing 5 million rolls a day. Early in her baking journey, she met George Barnes, a food broker who sells suppliers’ products to grocery stores. They fell in love and got married in 1996. After years of success, in 2001, they sold the Sister Schubert’s brand to Ohio-based food company Lancaster Colony but stayed on to run the business. Currently, Sister Schubert’s produces 9 million rolls per day. Sister is the founder and vice president of research, as well as the brand spokesperson for her famous rolls.

“I adore traveling, visiting grocery stores, and meeting my customers. I hear wonderful stories from people about the first roll they had and how much they loved it. They tell me how their families come together around my rolls. Some people get tears in their eyes telling me how my rolls bring (Karim Shamsi-Basha for American Essence) them family memories,” Sister said, her voice shaking. “It feels gratifying, and it brings me so much happiness to know my products make people happy. That’s the deeper purpose for my rolls.” Sister reflected on that last sentence with a nostalgic gaze. Her rolls may be delicious and easy to prepare, but they carry a more significant meaning, a purpose. “I had no idea that my rolls would become what they are today. I was just making rolls. Now I see beyond the product. I see people come (Karim Shamsi-Basha for American Essence) together and create stories and lasting memories.” Sister and George never forgot their humble beginnings. They established one of their three bakeries in Luverne—

up the road from where they live in Andalusia. The town has struggled after the loss of textile work. At one point, Sister and George Barnes were the largest employers in the area.

At her immaculately clean bakery in Luverne, Sister hugged workers and chatted with them. She grabbed a dough sample out of the assembly line to examine its elasticity. “These feel great, Tabatha. Good job, my friend,” Sister said.

With their success, Sister Schubert and George Barnes started the Barnes Family Foundation. After seeing many young orphaned children in need of adoption, especially in Ukraine, the Barneses established a scholarship via the foundation to help college students study abroad and broaden their knowledge of the world. The Barneses are also involved at their church to help the poor and the elderly. Together, they have given millions of dollars to nonprofits and other causes.

Sister’s work with orphanages in Ukraine led her to adopt a child from that country. “I was visiting an orphanage when my eyes locked into the eyes of this little boy. I knew right there that I was going to adopt him.” Little Alexander had clubbed feet, and Sister was warned not to expect much of a life for him due to his disability. Now, he is active in different sports and makes the entire family happy, including Sister’s four biological children.

With the mischievous smile of a child, Sister spoke of her future goals in life. “I will continue baking bread. I will be kind, and I will try to help others. Ultimately, I will live every day like it’s my last.”

Now, Sister uses a wooden stool to teach her grandkids how to bake. It’s wooden, but not as rickety as the one she climbed onto in her Grammy’s kitchen.

The legend and legacy continue.

This article first appeared in American Essence Source: www.theepochtimes.com BOOM! Available Here and 200 other locations!

When I used to think of gardens and plants many different thoughts came to mind. Often, I enjoyed the visual beauty of a lovely landscape at someone's home and how it enhanced the surroundings to make the outdoor space something special.

Color and variety were always so pleasing to the eye and could be enjoyed every day just driving in the city or in my own neighborhood. Growing up, our neighbors had a beautiful backyard garden that attracted many visitors in the spring and summer. To my childish eyes I imagined it was like the Garden of Eden. It was so calm and beautiful that it seemed to hold a wonderful peace. I imagined heaven must be like this, so green and cool and perfect.

As J grew older J came to enjoy the wonders of another type of a garden. One full of color also but with the bonus of fruits, berries and vegetables. Who knew how gorgeous the blossoms were on a squash or okra, what a great surprise. How amazing it was to me, just like having the grocery in your backyard!

Now when I think of gardens, the very best memories are the ones I have of my mother and her garden. It was not flashy or spectacular as some others, but definitely full of happiness.

I often remember her so peacefully puttering around and tending the plants. If you were close enough, you could hear her humming a favorite hymn and you could just tell it was a favorite time of day.

My Mother is gone now and there are many memories I will always have. Her great delight in her grandchildren, the wonderful aromas of her kitchen, the faithfulness she showed to her friends and family. Examples she taught by the way she lived and so much more. She also left us living memories in her garden.

I have the garden of her last home and all I have to do is walk out the door and I can feel her around me by the sweet fragrances of the daffodils she planted. Soon I'll enjoy the iris and daylilies that will begin to bud. Now it is my turn to tend the plants and sometimes as I'm weeding, I find myself humming a hymn.

Her garden is a gift that continues to give. The plants are thriving and multiplying and now I share them with siblings for their gardens. I'm sure they will think of her with every

season and be thankful for the gift of a living memory.

Cathy Robbins, a Master Gardener in the Capital City Master Gardener Association since 2014, lives in Montgomery. For more information on becoming a master gardener, visit our web site, www. capcitymqa.org or email capcitymga@gmail.com.

Thanksgiving is over, and December is rushing past, with days filled with shopping and wrapping gifts, cooking and baking, and travelling to share the holidays with family and friends. Suddenly, a new year will be upon us, and we will be facing the annual ritual of making those pesky New Year’s Resolutions. Most people think of these resolutions in three categories: learning new things by keeping our minds active, getting some exercise to make our bodies healthier, and maybe even learning a new skill to develop a new hobby. Membership in AUM OLLI is a convenient – and fun – way to fulfill resolutions in all three of these categories. The 2023 Winter Term Schedule has study/ discussion classes, active classes, and hands-on classes for learning new skills.

The study courses provide a variety of subjects to appeal to many different interests: UFOs, Alabama traditions (including Sacred Harp Singing and Alabama pottery), America as a land of hope, the lessons of WWII, the art exhibitions at the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, and book discussion groups. The Brain Bowl also provides a way for the members of the class to test their knowledge.

Getting healthier is an aim of the active classes. Once a week, members can put on work-out clothes to take a hike or line dance for an hour and a half or learn moves in Tai Chi for Pain Management.

The hands-on classes also appeal to differing interests. Back on the AUM OLLI schedule for Winter Term are painting with watercolors and zentangle. Making jewelry with beads is a popular course for several OLLI members. All of these courses in artistic skills can give participants the incentive to take up new hobbies.

In addition to the courses, there are Bonus Opportunities and Field Trips available to OLLI members. During the Winter Term, Field Trips include a tour of the AUM Wellness Center (AUM OLLI members are eligible for a discount on membership), an evening of women’s and men’s basketball games plus supper (January 14, 2023, before the Winter Term begins officially), and a wine and food tasting at Peppertree Steaks and Wines.

AU OLLI Shares is also making some courses available to AUM OLLI members via ZOOM. The schedule and detailed descriptions of these courses in addition to details about the AUM OLLI schedule are in the online catalog found at www.aum.edu/olli. Registration opened December 1, 2022.

Take action to make your New Year’s Resolutions and keep them by becoming a member of AUM OLLI.