81-Year-Old Grandma Runs Family HQ, Son Graduates Empathy 101
Julie Kelley, 51, a media consultant with deep Vermont roots and a habit of career sprawl, lives with her 81-year-old grandma Judy, ex-educator and history buff, and her remarkably patient 10-year-old son who’s apparently the poster child for empathy. After Dad sadly passed in Atlanta 2018 — where the Kelly clan ran a tiny 1,300-square-foot apartment annex for grandparental HQ — they all moved back to Vermont. Grandma’s walker is the often-featured star in their Yellowstone road trip, where debates on dinosaurs outpaced any high school curriculum. Brothers supply grandma with bedrooms across three states, but she’d rather chase fossils and argue medieval trivia than retire. The son’s kindness shines brighter than a Yellowstone geyser, ice packs at the ready for grandma’s falls, stuffed animals on standby, and zero confusion about age despite the family’s multi-state comedy of relocations.
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Nothing says 'empathy boot camp' like an 81-year-old history teacher grandma, a single mom media consultant, and a kid trained in kindness by years of multi-state annex living and dinosaur debates—because every family needs a Jurassic heartwarming saga.
Some kids learn empathy from cartoons; this kid got a PhD from Grandma University with minors in Dinosaur Diplomacy and Walker Logistics.
Who needs YouTube tutorials when your 81-year-old grandma moonlights as a history professor, nurse, and emotional coach all in a 1,300-square-foot family annex?
Source: Businessinsider | Published: 10/16/2025 | Author: Jane Ridley
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