I loved Clock Dance! Not come across the other two books, but they sound great. I was thinking recently too how in the 80s we were so much less supervised as kids. Family decisions didn't revolve around us like they do now, and I do think I have struggled to remember that as a mum. A book I recently read set in the 80s was We Run with the Tides by Vandela Vida. More about teen girls coming-of-age, but I enjoyed it!
I haven’t heard of We Run With thr Tides, but it sounds right up my alley. Adding it to my list! And I know exactly what you mean, on the family decisions. I tend to discuss big ones with my kids, whereas my siblings and I were simply informed :)
I reread "Clock Dance" not too long ago and liked it so much more the second time around. I remember Willa's attraction to safety and marveled at the small subtle ways she changed. The longing of the little girl for a grandmother was immediately familiar to me -- grandmothers are everything mothers can't be: experienced, less involved, just-as-loving, and able to marvel and enjoy rather than fix.
Yes. In All Adults Here, Emma Straub describes a grandmother getting ready for her granddaughter to visit, all the things she bakes and buys and plans, and says something like, the beauty of being a grandmother is “knowing what to do and having enough time to do it”. I was terribly jealous when I read that. As a solo mom, I often find myself unable to do all the “right” things for lack of time, or else totally unsure if what I’m doing is right. I hope to be exactly the kind of grandma you describe, many years from now :)
I loved Clock Dance! Not come across the other two books, but they sound great. I was thinking recently too how in the 80s we were so much less supervised as kids. Family decisions didn't revolve around us like they do now, and I do think I have struggled to remember that as a mum. A book I recently read set in the 80s was We Run with the Tides by Vandela Vida. More about teen girls coming-of-age, but I enjoyed it!
I haven’t heard of We Run With thr Tides, but it sounds right up my alley. Adding it to my list! And I know exactly what you mean, on the family decisions. I tend to discuss big ones with my kids, whereas my siblings and I were simply informed :)
I reread "Clock Dance" not too long ago and liked it so much more the second time around. I remember Willa's attraction to safety and marveled at the small subtle ways she changed. The longing of the little girl for a grandmother was immediately familiar to me -- grandmothers are everything mothers can't be: experienced, less involved, just-as-loving, and able to marvel and enjoy rather than fix.
Yes. In All Adults Here, Emma Straub describes a grandmother getting ready for her granddaughter to visit, all the things she bakes and buys and plans, and says something like, the beauty of being a grandmother is “knowing what to do and having enough time to do it”. I was terribly jealous when I read that. As a solo mom, I often find myself unable to do all the “right” things for lack of time, or else totally unsure if what I’m doing is right. I hope to be exactly the kind of grandma you describe, many years from now :)