About Mema
Mema is a grandmother of six amazing, brilliant, talented, and beautiful grandchildren (aren’t all of our grandchildren the best!), now spanning ages from kindergarten to college. She acquired her grandma name, Mema, when her eldest grandchild was about a year and a half old and could not say grandma, but could say “Mema.” She is Mema forever more.
Mema throws herself into every project 110% and being a grandma is no exception. Mema, due to losing most of her family, including all her grandparents in the Holocaust, never knew the love of grandparents, that extra dimension that adds to the positive growth and development of a child, and considers perfecting grandparenting skills an avocation. Mema makes it a priority to find as many ways to make each grandchild’s life as good as it can be, which also means keeping their parents, the gatekeepers to the grandchildren, as happy as they can be.
Mema is a Baby Boomer grandma, who works at being ‘forever young.” Mema, a widow, enjoys spending time with family and friends. Mema spends much time on airplanes traveling to visit with grandchildren as often as possible. For several years now, Mema has been able to be a “hands on” grandma to three of the grandchildren who moved to Florida, living close by.
Mema’s hobbies include reading, writing, yoga, and pilates, but most of all, travel. Since retirement, Grandma has joined book clubs, and plays Mah Jong and Canasta. Mema and PopPop completed their “bucket list” of experiencing the wonders of the world and most of the national parks in America. Mema plans all family travel, multi-generational vacations, family trips between the parents and their children, and trips with grandchildren without their parents. Mema loves that our children are introducing the grandchildren to U.S. and world travel, and extending the family tradition and ritual of travel and expanding one’s horizons to the next generation. Taking each grandchild on a Bar or Bat Mitzvah trip anywhere in the world he or she wants to go, the next trip is Japan April 2024 for an anime and manga lover.
Mema matured during the transition from the era of woman as homemaker to woman as working mother. Mema has an undergraduate and master’s degree in education. Mema also holds a doctorate degree in law. Mema was a working mother, an elementary and middle school teacher for seven years. Mema went back to school after her children were born, finished law school and became a lawyer. Aspiring to become a judge since the age of ten, Mema succeeded in being elected to the bench as a circuit court judge in the state of Florida, served in the family division, in the 17th Judicial Circuit, Broward County, and served in that capacity for nearly twenty years, until mandatory retirement at age 70. The link to Mema’s professional website is www.reneegoldenberg.com. On the website is her professional bio and a link to a speech Mema gave to the Broward County Bar Association, Broward County, Florida, put by the Bar on YouTube, sharing what she learned about the law and life as a family court judge.
Mema is a published author of a professional treatise and numerous professional articles. Her two volume book, Florida Family Law and Practice, is used by lawyers and judges in the state of Florida. It is available through James Publishing and on Amazon. Mema has over forty years of experience working with adults, children and families. Mema’s expertise as a grandma extends twenty years.
“Grandma Lessons,”www.grandmother-blog.com is about Mema sharing her expertise and history, growth and research, tips and experiences as a Boomer grandma, and preserving it all for Mema’s grandchildren to have when they are older.
Mema signs each post with the salutation, “Joy,” to reflect that grandparenting, at all times, should be all joy and no responsibility. Sharing the joy of grandparenting is also a chronicle of the discovery of the miracle of grandparenting — pure and innocent mutual unconditional love and adoration.