Welcome to a forgotten corner of the ancient forest.
The thing about blogs that distinguish them from the rest of the print media is the complete absence of an editor from the process of publishing. In other forms of publishing there is editorial control so that items like this one get weeded out.
Like most blog authors I post on pretty much anything that interests me but the blog rarely has personal stuff on it because it is not what this blog is about. A quick look at the recent posts will show that there have been a number of pregnancy and childbirth related items which has been a topic of interest recently and for a very good reason. On Friday morning at 6:20am I became a grandfather for the first time.
Accordingly you are going to have to put up with a photo of my first piece of grandfathering with my new grandson.
As you would expect he is a lovely little boy and his mother did an excellent job growing him. A little too good perhaps because he weighed 10lbs 2oz when he was born. The shocked look on the faces of women who have themselves given birth at some time in the past supports the assertion of Mrs Green Man that this is a somewhat bigger baby than your average woman would want to give birth to.
Never mind that is done with now and his mother can get on with the job of enjoying her lovely new baby.
There are many jewels hidden amongst the leaves in this forgotten part of the ancient forest. Spend some time browsing and you are sure to find some. Click here or continue your search below
or read the most recent entries here.Hearty congratulations! I have five of the little buggers running around, and being a grandparent is a great joy!
May your line continue to wax and increase, and may you know naught but joy for your family and kin.
Be well,
Dave H.
Now you truly are the green man, for without the children of children, the role isn't really yours yet.
Great happiness from over the sea, to you.
And to that end, a lovely discussion of the Grandfather principles:
http://www.livejournal.com/users/ozarque/2005/02/24/
Eldering; The Grandfather Principles?; giving advice
I've said that I'd always be interested in seeing a proposed set of Grandfather Principles. In that context, I'd like to respectfully disagree with one of the items that sighkey has suggested should be part of the set, the one that goes:
"Advice is plentiful, give it away freely."
I can't speak for grandfathers -- my ignorance about them has been fully and openly declared in this journal. But I do know from observing grandmothers who grandmother well that it's a mistake for them to give advice to anyone over the age of twelve unless they have been specifically asked to do so. Giving unasked-for advice to young children is routine adult behavior and is necessary for the kids' survival; giving unasked-for advice to teenagers and adults -- except in the most acute emergencies -- should, in my opinion, be rigorously avoided.
If you give advice away freely without being asked for it, three things will happen:
(1) Nobody will value your advice, because it becomes a sort of background noise .... part of the environment.
(2) Most of the time, the automatic resistance that Anglo teens and adults have to being told what to do by adults will kick in and people will do something other than what you advise -- even when they agree with you. Just to demonstrate that they can't be pushed around.
This resistance may not be automatic for ethnic groups in which respect for elders hasn't been eroded the way it has in Anglo culture; I don't know. I do know that in the non-Anglo culture I know best -- the Navajo culture -- adults who are successful in their adult roles teach by example, and refrain from giving advice to teenagers and adults unless it's asked for.
(3) If the teens and adults don't resist -- if they just follow your advice -- they'll never grow up. They'll rely on you to always tell them what they should do, and then when you die they'll be helpless. They need to be allowed to make their own mistakes, suffer the consequences, and learn from that -- and one of the things they may learn is to ask an elder for advice.
For grandmothers (and perhaps it's true for grandfathers as well), it's critically important that their unsolicited advice be looked upon as something rare and valuable, so that when it does come along everyone stops -- startled -- and listens carefully. For everything else, people should feel that they have to ask -- that unless they say, "Grandmother, what do you think I ought to do?" -- they will be allowed to do whatever they think best, without interference.
And it should be clear to them that if they ask, after the fact, "Grandmother, is there something I could have done so that this wouldn't have turned out so badly?", they will get a careful and respectful response -- but only if they ask for it.
Suzette Haden Elgin
there's more, go enjoy.
Posted by: liz at March 7, 2005 05:19 PMhurrah!
you look so good with that grandchild of yours.
this makes your blog all the more special - seeing a glimpse of the personal you.
Posted by: tammy at March 8, 2005 12:08 PMThat is wonderful! Enjoy him and all the beauty he brings to the world.
Posted by: Michelle at March 8, 2005 06:06 PMDear Green Man,
First of all congratulations on the birth of your grandson, much joy and happiness lies ahead for you all. I hope this isn't inappropriate but I tried emailing to the address on your site and it didn't work hence my contacting this way. At the risk of blowing my own trumpet I thought you'd be interested to see a statue I made of you which is pretty good and very big (40ft high to be precise). It's probably true to say its the biggest sculpture of the Green Man anywhere......unless someone knows different?
I'm curious as to your response and whether we could do a reciprocal link to each other's sites? Spread or should I say join the force and all that!
Anyway see what you think, here's the link:
http://www.tawnygray.com/greenman.html
Bests and enjoy grandfatherhood
T
Aww that's fantastic. Congratulations.
He looks less green than I would have imagined, as do you.
Congrats on the birth of the Green Boy! And, yes, he is indeed a strapping lad at over ten pounds! I've enjoyed your BLOG for quite some time and it's lovely to see you so happy!
Posted by: Mrs.D. at March 16, 2005 02:14 AMcongratulations mate - enjoy!
Posted by: Darren Rowse at March 16, 2005 05:30 PM
Stumble It!