How to Survive Vacationing with Your Teen

We work hard all year and look forward to taking time off. We may have vision boards with sandy beaches or mountain retreats, with families sitting around fire pits or playing games around a large table. We count down the days to cozy family time, where everyone is smiling through long hikes, enjoying new foods and settling into strange beds […]

Why Do Graduations Brings on Such Strong Emotions?

When I became a parent of college grads, I was somewhat surprised to realize that I shed more tears at the high school ceremonies than the college ones. Somehow this didn’t make sense. This may be in part because there were several of “my kids” graduating from high school – my own children, their friends, and those who I watched […]

A Guide To Better Decision-Making

WISE DECISIONS: A Science-Based Approach to Making Better Decisions  by Dr. Jim Loehr and Dr. Sheila Ohlsson is a useful guide to understanding the science behind our decision-making and, more importantly, how to use this knowledge to make even better decisions. This book makes you stop and think. It’s obvious, but have you considered that beliefs are merely opinions? And […]

Parenting Teens Is More Guiding and Advising Than Controlling

My love affair with the ocean began in my teens when my parents became friends with a man who soon became family. He had a boat that he used for pleasure and chartering small fishing trips. Breaking his long-standing rule of “No women on the boat,” he invited the family out for an afternoon (of four family members, three of […]

When You Have One “Last” Summer to Prepare Your Teen

We all make note of our children’s “firsts:” their first smile, first tooth, first step, first day of kindergarten. Especially with my youngest, as my kids moved on to big milestones (moving from elementary to middle school, for example) I started noting the lasts, with more than a little melancholy. With the youngest, these lasts were also lasts for me. […]

Embracing My Kids’ Interests Was an Opportunity for My Own Growth

When I first became a mom, I looked forward to doing things with my children that I had enjoyed growing up. It didn’t occur to me then that embracing my kids interests instead would be so rewarding. I first realized that this was not to be when my oldest asked to take ballet lessons. My mother tried for years to […]

I Don’t Want to Intrude, Just Send Me Proof of Life

Proof of life. Any message, no matter how goofy is acceptable. Since parts of my heart first went off without me (aka my kids going to college), I have had an internal struggle. I want them to stretch and learn and grow as human beings, but also have an almost primal need to know they are okay. I know the […]