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Babysitting grandpa going viral with his constant texts to vacationing daughter

"Hi, how do I toast!"

grandparents; Molly Madfis; tiktok videos; funny tiktoks; parenting
Molly Madfis TikTok screenshots

Babysitting grandpa has the internet in stitches.

Good grandparents really are an important asset to young families just starting out. They can show you the ropes of parenthood, help entertain their grandkids, and probably most importantly, they know when you need a break because you're their baby and they can always tell when something's up with their child.

But sometimes, grandparents can be a little...uh...needy, even when they're the best grandparents in every other aspect. Technology has changed so much over the decades since they were raising children, and sometimes they need a little extra help with things that might seem simple. Soon-to-be mom of two, Molly Madfis, took to TikTok to share what happened when her 75-year-old dad, John, was babysitting her 5-year-old, Arlo, for a few days while she was on a "babymoon" with her husband.

In the viral TikTok, Madfis is seen with her husband with a text overlay that reads, "how to have a relaxing babymoon—don't ask your dad to babysit." Before you think Madfis is being mean to her sweet dad, you can clearly see through the text exchange that they love each other very much and her post seems to be in good fun.

"Arlo worships my dad, but I was a little nervous about leaving them alone together. My dad is pretty co-dependent—like, he’ll go to CVS and then call me eight times with different questions,” Madfis told Today.com.

The text exchanges that Madfis shared are pretty adorable, though I'm sure receiving them while you're trying to relax may have taken the cute factor down a notch. But let's be completely honest—do we think a nervous mom would've relaxed had grandpa not been sending random texts that let you know things are still going well? Probably not.

In the short clip, you see the door cam video that shows John, whom Arlo lovingly calls "Poppy," leaving to take the little guy to school without his backpack...and 30 minutes late. Then comes the text, "Hi, how do you toast," which John sent along with a picture of the options shown on the machine. Clearly, or at least clearly to his daughter and viewers, there was a picture of a piece of bread indicating the toasting option. When Madfis explained where the bread icon was located, there was still confusion, but he made it work.

"The one that looks like pizza worked," the grandpa replied.

@almostmakesperfect

never again #fyp

The texts continue to get more comical as they go on. At one point, he asked if he should refrigerate the leftover pizza, complete with a photo of a half-empty pizza box. But the kicker was when Madfis asked for a picture of her child. John's response was a classic dad move: "Why? You already know what he looks like."

The comment section was filled with people relating and laughing at the video.

"I asked my FIL [father-in-law] for a pic of my baby so he sent me the pic that I sent him of her last week," one mom commented.

"Love how he didn't mind sending you pictures of the toaster and pizza but was confused on why you wanted one of the kid," another person wrote, complete with a crying laughing emoji.

Others commented that the little boy probably had the best week of his life with his Poppy. Listen, even people who take their kids to school every day forget backpacks sometimes, so we can cut grandpa some slack there. As for the rest of it—keep being you, Poppy. Memories are certainly being made.

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Facebook group brings people together IRL to make meaningful friendships

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Making new friends as an adult is challenging. While people crave meaningful IRL connections, it can be hard to know where to find them. But thanks to one Facebook Group, meeting your new best friends is easier than ever.

Founded in 2018, NYC Brunch Squad brings together hundreds of people who come as strangers and leave as friends through its in-person events.

“Witnessing the transformative impact our community has on the lives of our members is truly remarkable. We provide the essential support and connections needed to thrive amid the city's chaos,” shares Liza Rubin, the group’s founder.

Despite its name, the group doesn’t just do brunch. They also have book clubs, seasonal parties, and picnics, among other activities.

NYC Brunch Squad curates up to 10 monthly events tailored to the specific interests of its members. Liza handles all the details, taking into account different budgets and event sizes – all people have to do is show up.

“We have members who met at our events and became friends and went on to embark on international journeys to celebrate birthdays together. We have had members get married with bridesmaids by their sides who were women they first connected with at our events. We’ve had members decide to live together and become roommates,” Liza says.

Members also bond over their passion for giving back to their community. The group has hosted many impact-driven events, including a “Picnic with Purpose” to create self-care packages for homeless shelters and recently participated in the #SquadSpreadsJoy challenge. Each day, the 100 members participating receive random acts of kindness to complete. They can also share their stories on the group page to earn extra points. The member with the most points at the end wins a free seat at the group's Friendsgiving event.

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In 125 years, millions of people have looked at this painting. No one really saw it until recently.

Van Gogh saw something it took scientists another 100 years to see.

Image from Wikimedia Commons.

Van Gogh’s Starry Night.



Van Gough never got to enjoy his own historic success as an artist (even though we've been able to imagine what that moment might have looked like). But it turns out that those of us who have appreciated his work have been missing out on some critical details for more than 100 years.

I'm not easily impressed, OK?

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Women do better when they have a group of strong female friends, study finds

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Photo by Omar Lopez on Unsplash

Women do better when they have female friends.

Madeleine Albright once said, "There is a special place in hell for women who don't help other women." It turns out that might actually be a hell on Earth, because women just do better when they have other women to rely on, and there's research that backs it up.

A study published in the Harvard Business Review found that women who have a strong circle of friends are more likely to get executive positions with higher pay. "Women who were in the top quartile of centrality and had a female-dominated inner circle of 1-3 women landed leadership positions that were 2.5 times higher in authority and pay than those of their female peers lacking this combination," Brian Uzzi writes in the Harvard Business Review.

Part of the reason why women with strong women backing them up are more successful is because they can turn to their tribe for advice. Women have to face different challenges than men, such as unconscious bias, and being able to turn to other women who have had similar experiences can help you navigate a difficult situation. It's like having a road map for your goals.

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3,700-year-old Babylonian stone tablet gets translated, changes history

They were doing trigonometry 1500 years before the Greeks.

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Dr. Daniel Mansfield and his team at the University of New South Wales in Australia have just made an incredible discovery. While studying a 3,700-year-old tablet from the ancient civilization of Babylon, they found evidence that the Babylonians were doing something astounding: trigonometry!

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Millennials nearing 40 are sharing their biggest mistakes so everyone can learn from them

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Millennials are now old enough to seriously reflect on life.

It seems like only yesterday a millennial was a college kid that baby boomers chided for being entitled and Gen Xers thought were way too sincere and needed to learn how to take a joke. Today, the oldest millennials, those born around 1980, have hit their 40s and have lived long enough to have some serious regrets.

They also have enough experience to take some pride in decisions that, in hindsight, were the right moves.

The good news is that at 40 there is still plenty of time to learn from our successes and failures to set ourselves up for a great second half of life. These lessons are also valuable to the Gen Zers coming up who can avoid the pitfalls of the older generation.

A Reddit user who has since deleted their profile asked millennials nearing 40 “what were your biggest mistakes at this point in life?” and they received more than 2,200 responses. The biggest regrets these millennials have are being flippant about their health and not saving enough money when they were younger.

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Stop blaming the 'Karens.' The people who complain the most have a different name.

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Identifying the folks who create unnecessary drama in our world is important. But calling them a “Karen” isn’t the best way to solve the problem. There are many reasons to have an issue with the “Karen” stereotype. First, it’s terrible for people named Karen, and it’s also a connotation that many feel is racist, sexist and ageist.

Further, according to a new study by Trustpilot, the stereotype isn’t accurate. A recent survey by the online media site found that the people who leave the most one-star reviews aren’t female, and the women who do it the most aren’t named Karen.

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People are mortified to find out how many moms daydream about being hospitalized

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Lying in bed and looking out the window with no one asking for anything? Yes, please.

It's hard to explain the relentless intensity of having young children if you haven't done it. It's wonderful, beautiful, magical and all of that—it truly is—but it's a lot. Like, a lot. It's a bit like running an ultramarathon through the most beautiful landscape you can imagine. There's no question that it's amazing, but it's really, really hard. And sometimes there are storms or big hills or obstacles or twisted ankles or some other thing that makes it even more challenging for a while.

Unfortunately, a lot of moms feel like they're running that marathon alone. Some actually are. Some have partners who don't pull their weight. But even with an equal partner, the early years tend to be mom-heavy, and it takes a toll.

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