Kathie Lee Gifford – Joy Is Just Around the Corner!

Former Today co-host Kathie Lee Gifford, 69, confides that her life in Nashville, Tennessee, is a bit slower these days, filled with singing, writing and time with loved ones. But as she catches up with Woman's World about her life's inspiring second act, she describes how heartache and happiness, loss and love have guided her on this amazing new journey

- By Deborah Evans Price

Kathie Lee Gifford has held many high-profile titles in her career as an actress, TV host and author, but this Labor Day, she gushes that the title she’s most proud of is “Bubbe.”

“I never wanted to be called ‘Grandma,’” she dishes to Woman’s World. “My name is Bubbe: short for Bubala and its Yiddish for ‘dearest one.’” As Bubbe to her son Cody’s new baby boy, Kathie Lee is loving celebrating their growing family. “They FaceTime me so I can see the little one every day. It’s wonderful!”

Long is the list of Kathie Lee’s blessings, but that doesn’t mean that she hasn’t faced hardship—like the loss of her beloved husband, Frank, in 2015. “I’ve had so many times of struggle and grief. Grief is natural. We need to have a season of it, but God doesn’t want us to stay there.”

What helps Kathie Lee through her hardest moments? Faith and moments of laughter. “When the doctors took my son, Cody, away for his circumcision, I put a note in his diaper that said, Dear Dr., just take a tad, please leave me most of what I already have. Life is too short so don’t make me that way. Now please hold steady and have a nice day. Love, Cody,” Kathie Lee laughs. “Well, recently, Cody and his wife, Erika, did the same thing for their son. It was an homage to my late husband and me…and it moved me.”