a time reserved for Kathleen and her grandchildren alone.) They never once heard Kathleen criticize or complain about behaviour during those weekly gatherings.

The weekly lunches were eagerly anticipated — and not to be missed. As some of the grandchildren grew older and entered university, they would schedule classes around the Wednesday lunches.

The Wednesday lunches with Grammie were a source of pride for the grandchildren. As a measure of their pride in, and attachment to their grandmother, they would sometimes invite a friend from school to join them in the festivities. All were warmly welcomed.

Preparations for the weekly lunches became one of the focal points of the week for Kathleen. In addition to the preparations came another weekly duty, especially when the grandchildren were quite young. They had to be cleaned and washed up before they went back to kindergarten or school. Kathleen acquired a renewed appreciation of the challenges of removing ketchup stains.

Just as the lunches brought the grandchildren closer to Kathleen, they also brought her close to her grandchildren — and the grandchildren

to one another. Those who study family dynamics over the course of generations have noted the increased fragmentation of the family unit. Where once as many as three — and possibly four — generations might live in the same household, the growing phenomenon of the nuclear family means grandparents and grandchildren are not as close as they once were. Cousins may not have much of a relationship with one another at all. Many families only meet at weddings or funerals — if then.

Kathleen was committed to keeping family together. The Wednesday lunches with Grammie cemented the bonds among the Murphy grandchildren and with their grandmother.

Another spin—off from the lunch at Grammie’s was the creation of a Facebook page entitled “Grammie’s Favourites.” Each of the grandchildren make good—natured arguments about why they are the favourite.

182 KATHLEEN MURPHY, MAITRIARC