Category Archives: aging parents

Healing Family Wounds

Tuesday’s blog post focused on how divorce and parenting style can cause a breach in your relationship with your adult children. As a marriage and family therapist, I know there are all kinds of reasons why parents and adult children become distant. The experts used to think that negative behavior was due to bad parenting. But decent parents can raise difficult kids. Some may have a demanding temperament from birth, are harder to parent or are less responsive to influence. It’s been said that you’re only as happy as your least … Continue reading

Posted in adult children, aging parents, extended family, intimate partner, parenting kids, sandwich generation, stress, well-being, your self | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Passover or Easter and First-time Grandparents – Part Two

 As we’re in the midst of Passover and Easter is about to begin, this week family is at the forefront. As a first-time grandparent you must be easing into your new role.  So see if these practical ideas help: Respect your children. A lot has changed since your parenting days. There are new theories and techniques. Don’t assume that, just because you did it in a certain way, it’s the best. When you hold back, you’ll notice how capable your kids are and how lovingly they care for your grandchildren. Notice how … Continue reading

Posted in adult children, aging parents, extended family, parenting kids, sandwich generation, stress, well-being, your self | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

AMOUR: Lessons from the 2013 Best Foreign Film

  Although the 2013 Academy Awards are history, one gem – Amour – will continue to shine. This heartbreaking and unflinching movie was painful to watch but it stimulated conversations with more questions than answers. As the people we love decline, how do we deal with the inevitable suffering? Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke tackled this subject and won the 2013 Academy Award for best foreign language film. The leads, veteran French actors Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva, play a vital Parisian couple in their 80s whose happy marriage gradually unravels. A retired music … Continue reading

Posted in adult children, aging parents, extended family, intimate partner, parenting kids, sandwich generation, stress, well-being, your self | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The 2013 Academy Awards Revisited

My husband and I are part of a monthly film group that always watches the Academy Awards together. When we congregated yesterday, we filled in our ballots for every category and put a couple of dollars in the kitty. I never win this sort of thing, and last night was no exception. But it was fun anyway. Dinner was delicious. According to new data, 30% of cardiovascular disease can be prevented in high risk people if they eat a Mediterranean diet. So we all cooked in olive oil and enjoyed … Continue reading

Posted in adult children, aging parents, intimate partner, sandwich generation, stress, well-being, your self | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment