by Sheila Dinaburg-Azoff and Joan Reynolds
(Adopted from their new book, Parenting In Your Own Voice)
As a midlife parent, you’ve had a lot of life experiences that have shaped your perspectives. You’re far wiser than you were at twenty. Nevertheless, it’s sometimes a challenge for parents of any age to distinguish their own identity from their child’s identity. […]
by Adam Pertman
When we don’t fully understand something, we’re prone to make mistakes when dealing with it. This not-very-profound truism popped into my head recently as I was thinking about how to lead into a new commentary – the one you’re reading right now – about the negative repercussions of the secrecy, stigma and shame that permeated adoption for generations and, alas, sometimes still do. […]
by Maggie Lamond Simone
The holidays are upon us once again, the season of family, of gatherings, of traditions. The season, in most people’s lives, of hope.
Our tradition at Thanksgiving had been for many years to head to a lodge in the country with my mother’s family; aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews would converge and catch up and try to store up enough memories to last for the coming year. One year, however, a favorite aunt was no longer there, and the tradition gradually died with her. It simply wasn’t the same without her, and so things changed. […]
by Jane Samuel
I am a former Jersey gal, tough to the core, with a fast talking side to me which is quick to tell you, “I do not bump my hair!” I am also a mother who has cultivated her desire to make things better for the last eighteen years of my seemingly non-stop-parenting life. […]
by Cindy Bailey
Dear Reader: This is a reprint of Cindy’s original blog post for us. A followup will be posted later this month. Cindy is truly a pioneer and dedicated to providing information for those trying to conceive, at any age.
Diet makes a difference in your fertility! I know from experience. At 40, after trying to conceive for over a year, I visited a popular reproductive endocrinologist who said I had a 2% chance of conceiving on my own. Devastated, I decided to do what I could to be in that 2%. I would not give up! […]
by Cyma Shapiro
In times like these: floods, drought, earthquakes, extreme hot weather, extreme cold, power outages, downed electricity/cable/telephone wires, we are plunged into circumstances that we sometimes cannot overcome. And, to add, we must handle whatever comes our way with our children in tow. I fear that the “same old, same old” is about to be the “new normal” – that is, that nothing as we’ve experienced in our lifetime(s) will be the same for our children. […]
by Jane Samuel
It has been over nine years since we brought our youngest daughter into our home and I continue to be astonished by the layers that adoption has brought to our life as a family, my work as a mother – even to my own emotional being. […]
by Maggie Lamond Simone
My son was upset the other night because he realized he’d only practiced piano a couple times throughout the week and his lesson was the next day. He was very hard on himself, and I said, “I’m sorry, honey. You’re only nine; mommy needs to remind you more often. That’s part of my job.” […]
by Susan Newman
by Aleta St. James
You probably haven’t given your colon a great deal of thought, unless you’ve ever had to prep for a colonoscopy. Now, I’m going to ask you to look at your colon in a whole new way. It’s the key to experiencing true emotional digestion. So what’s emotional digestion? […]