by Amy Wright Glenn
When he naps, I meditate.
I nurse him down to sleep. Milk and song mingle together and soon his breath moves into the rhythms of dreamland.
We breathe together as a calm, holy, wonder moves through the house. Toys are still. Dishes are done and the leaves outside dance in the wind. I stay home with this boy and offer my light to him. I know that this is sacred work. […]
by Lewis Richmond
Since the 2012 publication of my book Aging as a Spiritual Practice: A Contemplative Guide to Growing Older and Wiser, I have been leading workshops and working with groups to explore how to negotiate the path of aging in today’s complex and hyper-busy world. Among baby boomers one of the challenges is being caught in middle between two other generations: children and aging parents. If the children span the ages from young school-age to adult, two generations expand to three!
Recent studies show that 35% of young adults in their 20s still living with parents—with more still relying on their parents for financial and emotional support. In addition, our parents’ generation is living longer than any in history—into their 80s, 90s, and even beyond. […]
by Marc Parsont
I never met a sale I didn’t like. The Battle Cry of the Parsont Clan is, “It’s On Sale!” Wilma Flintstone and Betty Rubble could “Charge It,” all day because they’d be left flapping in my wake. And why, you ask, should you care?
I plan on buying enough school supplies for our kids—for the rest of their natural lives. One time, one trip, and we’re through. […]
by Deborah Adrian
March 28th, 2008, was a day that marked the culmination of a personal infertility journey.
It was not the day you might imagine – when I found out I was pregnant. Past experience had taught me that just a pregnancy test was not enough to be confident I would have a baby. This was the moment I saw the image of a small fetus with a solid heartbeat grace the screen of the ultrasound machine. This was a moment forged by three years of struggle to get pregnant both naturally and with medical intervention. A moment ultimately created out of a commitment and a declaration. […]
Q: What is Attachment Parenting (AP)?
A: Attachment parenting is based on the principles of attachment theory in developmental psychology. According to attachment theory, children are born with the intrinsic expectation of forming a strong emotional bond, secure attachment, with a primary caregiver during childhood.
Without secure attachment there can be lifelong negative consequences from poor behavior and failure in school to violence. Sensitive and emotionally available parenting helps a child to form a secure attachment which fosters a child’s emotional development and well-being. Principles of attachment parenting aim to increase development of a child’s secure attachment and decrease insecure attachment. In many ways it is the practical application of attachment theory. […]
by Phyllis Goldberg, Ph.D., and Rosemary Lichtman, Ph.D
Photo courtesy of beingnewton.com
Your children – whatever their ages – may or may not do as you say, but chances are they’ll do as you do. There’s no getting around it. You serve as a role model through your attitudes and behavior inside and outside the family. Just remember, someone impressionable is watching, listening and learning from your example.
Should you be flawless? Of course not. But show them your best self. You can use these practical tips as you teach your kids how to:
Solve problems. Children need to know how and why you make the choices that you do. They learn what you value every time you make the extra effort. Your decisions don’t only impact you, so talk to them when you consider your parents’ needs before your own, put money in their college fund, help out in the homeless shelter. […]
by Maggie Lamond Simone
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60Koe5FSE9M *
The big yellow bus will soon rumble once more down our street, signaling the end of summer and the beginning of another chapter in my life. My youngest is now in kindergarten. Big brother and little sister will stand together at the bus stop, he surreptitiously looking out for her, his fear for her safety and feelings only slightly stronger than his fear of being caught caring.
I think of all the emotions I should be feeling, emotions that any normal mother would be feeling at this momentous occasion in her children’s life: a deep sense of pride; hope for the future; nostalgia for baby days long gone; and maybe even a little fear about what lies in store for these innocent young people. I should be crying.
So why, then, will I be doing The Happy Dance in my driveway as the bus is pulling away? […]
by Cyma Shapiro
(Stepping through that “time of life”) The nature and rhythm of my life has changed. What used to be simply firecrackers and passion, fast movement and hard-fast determination, has become a slightly mellower shade of honey, and flows at that very same pour-speed.
What used to be denial of things/time of life/aging has now become sobering, hard-core reality that we must savor each and every day, and that each and every day really is someone else’s last.
What used to be dreaming and planning for something (what?) has given way to acknowledging the present moment… and accepting it.
And, that all the determination and precise planning we give to everything simply cannot belie the fact that someone/something has greater power than we do.
This year, I will breathe in acceptance of the fact that I do not know it all; maybe do not know most of it; and that all of that knowing doesn’t mean that circumstances might not change it all – in an instant.
I know now that all I know is that I am alive and breathing and trying my best… each and every day.
by Serena Kirby
I was 43 when I finally became a mother and I’d definitely been looking through rose coloured glasses in regards to how I thought motherhood would be. Don’t get me wrong, I love being a mom and I would lay down my life for my child. But there were times in the early days of mothering when I asked myself, “What the heck have I done?”
I know now that I’m not alone in this, as many older mothers I spoke to while researching my book expressed surprise at the contradictory emotions that come with being a mom. […]
by Cyma Shapiro
Dear Reader: This is a rewrite of a previous post. Forgive my liberties in reprinting those few posts which resonate with me and provide a framework for all that follows. This pays homage to the start of school, the passing of time, and the recognition that having children changes it all.
Today, I waved to my daughter riding away on the bus. The silly kind of wave – two arms flailing, as if flagging down a passing ship. I was also jumping up and down. We both continued waving until the bus was out of sight.
Walking back to my house, I had a lump in my throat. I am sad. Sad for the absence of these experiences with my own mother; sad for the time which is passing so quickly; sad, too, that I see that my parenting must be working well – my own daughter still longs for me and keeps me in her sight. I did not have that with my own mother.
I will continue to try my hardest to fulfill that need, until her hands stop reaching for mine, the arm waves stop and I see her waving to her friends, not me. That time is coming. In fact, it’s just around the corner. […]