by Lisa Ferentz, LCSW-C, DAPA

If you've listened to any of my radio shows or read some of my newsletters, you know that I have an incredible grandmother who has always been a special source of wisdom and inspiration in my life. A few weeks ago, I was able to get back out to California to spend some quality time with her. Just being in her presence is an immediate source of comfort because, for me, she is an instant connection back to a childhood that is filled with loving, happy memories of celebrations, holidays, milestones, and countless family gatherings in her beautiful home and backyard that seemed magical to me and my siblings. Although I was sitting with my grandmother on the patio of her assisted living complex planning her 100th birthday party, I was continually transported back in time, as we reminisced about the goldfish pond in her backyard, the bang of the kitchen screen door opening and closing countless times during family Bar-B-Q's, the lullabies she used to sing to us, the way she used to cut up orange slices and make then look like a work of art on the plate.