Adult Children

If there is one thing we all noticed a little more of during the Covid lockdown, it was the amount of clutter we had accumulated and the impact it can have on how we feel in our own homes. Perhaps for the first time, you clearly felt the impact…

Releasing your kids to adulthood is a mixed blessing. You are both proud and saddened. They are embracing maturity and that’s a good thing! But your home will change after they leave, and that can be a confusing prospect. Now is the time to prepare yourself for these…

Many of us whose children have entered their 30s are still waiting to become grandparents. We understand that our kids have every right to make their own decisions about when and whether to become parents. If they never want to have children…

My neighbor, Heidi, recently told me, “I’ve forgiven my mother, but I won’t go to her funeral.” My friend Lynne has not communicated with her mother in 30 years. She occasionally trolls for a death certificate because, as the only child, there might be something…

I am known for exposing the “elephant in the living room.” Those things everybody knows but nobody is talking about. Not every mother-daughter relationship reads like a Hallmark card, and our culture makes that a shameful secret to bear…

Some of us moms have a problem with our attachment to our children, to the point where the bond can become unhealthy. Can we love our children but not let their choices or behavior make us crazy? Is some detachment actually a good idea?

If a mother-in-law has trust and faith in her son, it should give her the confidence to let go and let her son live his own life. She can learn to play a different role and find new interests to occupy her newfound time. Life changes force us to play…

One of the most challenging and rewarding thresholds in life can be talking to your adult child when they come to you with a problem. This is it is a statement of love and trust. Sometimes knowing what to say to them, and how and when to say it…

Motherhood in America is based on a myth. We are taught to believe that we can parent perfectly when we can’t. The myth also says that we parent better than our parents and that we can change the pattern for future generations…

The role of mother-in-law is all over the place. As with most of your relatives, it’s not your choice to be related to the person who makes you a mother-in-law. But unlike your “blood” relatives, it is someone’s choice: your child’s. So this new person…