Lisa writes: 10 months from now my husband and I will truly live in an empty nest and our real problems will begin. With two boys away at college and one to go, we are in a period of transition that helps me get ready for that day when time will stop. Unfortunately, nothing can fully prepare me. I am speaking about technology. I am not great at hooking things up or using new applications, but husband is far far worse. The only thing that actually allowed us to successfully enter the 21st ... View the Post
It’s All About Me
God, it really is all about me now. Not in the self-serving, hey guess what I am doing way, but rather, in a very different and often poignant way. My daughter (my only) and I had many different roles in our lives as she grew from the tiny girl who didn’t get the part of Cinderella in her kindergarten play (she was a mouse) to the graceful young woman she became. Along the way, she ran a lot, sometimes on the track and many times from me. She studied a lot. I watched her from my studio. We ... View the Post
“Goodbye, Dr. Spock” by Anna Quindlen
Anna Quidlen wrote an essay for Newsweek in 2000 and later included it in her collection entitled Loud and Clear. In it, she expresses the sweet nostalgia for time when her children were just that, children, and her amazement in the adults they have become. She ponders the issue that plagues us all. Did our kids grow up to be themselves, the people they were always going to be? How much did we really influence them and why are some of the sweetest moments so hard to recall? There are few writers ... View the Post
Tailgate
Mary Dell writes: Saturday mornings dawn with the luxurious realization that the day belongs to me, my husband, one very self sufficient high school daughter, and two chocolate Labradors. Weekends are no longer dominated by our two kids' soccer-hockey-lacrosse-football-baseball games- track and swim meets (and the tailgate that went with it.) While I thoroughly enjoyed watching them develop from clumsy little kids, just learning the rules of the sports, to varsity and even collegiate athletes, ... View the Post
Today’s Teens Better Behaved Than Their Parents
Tara Parker-Pope reports in the February 5, 2012, New York Times Magazine, that today's teens are engaged in less risky behavior than their parents were. Whew....can we all breathe a sigh of relief? She quotes Dr. John Santelli, president-elect for the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine who says There is a lot more media hype around the kids who are raising hell. There are a lot of kids who are pretty responsible. Read about it in Today's Teens Better Behaved Than Their Parents - ... View the Post
Only as Happy as Your Least Happy Child
As a parent, are you only as happy as your least happy child, regardless of his age? This is true in full and empty nests alike according to Karen Fingerman, University of Texas Human Development and Family Sciences professor. She speculates that parents are especially sensitive to a child’s failure simply because that indicates failure on their part: it seems to reflect the effectiveness of their child-rearing skills. Read about her study in Parents’ Happiness Linked to Their ... View the Post