relationships

Issue #5, July, 2001
Active and Meaningful Grandparenting
The miracle of birth; a blank slate; unconditional love; the projection of my own needs; the giving response to helplessness; smooth, soft, warm, cuddly skin; the reflexive finger grasp; the thrill of the first smile, the first of many firsts; an endorphin rush…Read More

Issue #7, October, 2001
Mothering My Mother
I have just experienced one of life’s most perfect moments – my daughter’s wedding. It was the culmination of a year that felt like a roller coaster ride, bringing me from the depths of depression to the heights of joy with constant motion in between. Not only did the wedding signal the beginning of my daughter’s life with the man she loves, but it brought my mother… Read More

Issue #10, April, 2002
Finding a Mate in Mid-Life
I hated being single. I really missed the company of a man. I am from a generation where my identity was being a wife. Without the marriage, I felt I had no identity. At least with a man, I felt useful and worthwhile. I was also very lonely. I missed being one-half…Read More

Issue #18, July, 2003
Living With the Loss of A Love
I had known my husband since school days and we had begun to ‘go steady’ when we were 16. At age 18, I entered nurses’ training at a large hospital where, during the three years of training, I made life-long close friendships. Six months after graduation, we…Read More

Issue #22, June, 2004
Friendships – Then and Now
Friendship confused me for much of my life. Looking back on my youth, I realize that I fell deeply in love with my girlfriends. I took friendship to heart, with unwavering loyalty. When my best friend in elementary school became seriously ill, I wanted desperately to visit and comfort her daily – yet she often refused. She died without my… Read More

Issue #24, November, 2004
Fair and Foul Weather Friends
I first met Debbie at our husbands’ company conference in June 2000. I suggested we “keep in touch” via e-mails when we returned to our respective homes in different cities. Thus began our unlikely journey from corporate wives to best friends and, ultimately…Read More

Issue #26, March 2005
The Marriage Dance at Midlife
When I look back on 26 years of marriage my immediate thought is, ‘where has all that time gone?’ But as I break it down, I recognize that we have accomplished a lot. We’ve raised three terrific kids, cheered at 1200 soccer games, had a combined five jobs, survived the loss of three parents, taken…Read More

Issue #27, May 2005
Partners in the Marriage Dance
We really like each other and have a good foundation. We enjoy sharing, intimacy, a sexual relationship, closeness, warmth, each other’s successes and…Read More

Issue #32, March 2006
Kitchen Dancing
I love to dance. I’ll put on a CD and move. Classical or Klezmer. Island drums or swing. It doesn’t matter. Music moves me in more ways than one. The kitchen floor is my stage, the ceramic tile providing a smooth surface for graceful glissades and…” Read More

Issue #33, May 2006
Elder Rage
For eleven years I begged my obstinate elderly father to allow a caregiver to help him with my ailing mother, but he adamantly insisted on taking care of her himself. Every caregiver I hired sighed in exasperation, Jacqueline, I just can’t work with your father–his temper is…” Read More

Issue #34, July 2006
Stepmother Survival Tips
“I had no idea that I would quickly become a full time mother of two young teenage boys when I got married 23 years ago. While my husband and I were still getting to know each other,…” Read More