COVER STORY:
Doting Grandparents
Krista Brick
Photography by Travis S. Pratt
Summer 2007 Issue
| Paul Silverberg reads a book to his grandson, Jesse, at Urbana Regional Library.
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"Nana! Oh, Nana, Nana, Nana!" is the wake-up call from 4-year-old Jesse Silverberg, their grandson sleeping in his own room in his grandparents' home in Urbana.
Like a growing trend of seniors, the Silverbergs left their sunny spot in Florida to move back near family once their grandson was born. Even home builders are designing communities that combine senior living areas with traditional neighborhoods so seniors can be close to their families, yet retreat to an age-restricted oasis. The Silverbergs get to spend every Thursday and Friday with their only grandchild, who they admit has them wrapped around his finger.
"We get to spoil him and hand him back. We let him do things we wouldn't let our own child do, but that is our job. Our daughter calls our home 'sugarland,'" said Poppy, also known as Paul.
While the couple said they still have their own interests, such as doing consulting work or knitting or painting or stained glass, it is the time they spend with their grandson that makes their day.
"We are much more involved grandparents than our grandparents were to us. Our world is all about him. I know he won't remember a lot of this, but we just hope to be able to live long enough that he does remember us," Estelle said.
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