Tag Archives: marriage
Overcoming Stress on Valentine’s Day
Couples today are dealing with huge stresses of all sorts – fears of economic meltdown, actual job loss, threats to safety and security, concerns about retirement finances, and, for Sandwiched Boomers, issues arising from children growing up and aging parents growing older. Partners rely on each other to help buffer the impact of these stresses – and, hopefully, to make coping with them a little easier. Studies have shown that for couples in love there are surges in dopamine, the chemical of pleasure, and in oxytocin, the hormone of bonding. … Continue reading
A Woman’s Nation: Who Wears the Pants?
One question in the Shriver Report, when husbands weighed in, was who wears the pants? Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm’s husband is now a full-time Dad. He talked about the shifting landscape of their marriage and changes in his sense of himself. Unlike fathers in the past, who ‘took a back seat,’ he sometimes tells his wife to ‘stay out of my lane.’ His sentiments were echoed by other dads – whereas they and the kids are a team when mom is at work, she still expects to be in charge … Continue reading
Tips for Adjusting to the Empty Nest
“My only child is in her first year of college and, even though I’ve always worked and she’s been ‘on her own’ for years now, I really miss her. I can hardly wait for parents’ weekend.” This is a commment from one of our readers who read yesterday’s post about the empty nest. Do you associate the empty nest primarily with children leaving for college? For some parents, the greatest feelings of loss occur when their adult children get married. The changes during this transition can be dramatic and traumatic … Continue reading
Staycation to Honor Aging Parents
Today we have some staycation pictures and a story from an ex-Sandwiched Boomer:“I had taken care of my aging parents, moving them into our home for the last several years of their lives. But I must admit that most of my energies were focused on raising the children so our vacations revolved around them. For years, I had heard from my parents about how they had eloped during the years of the Great Depression and been secretly married for four years. It all sounded so romantic and I tried to … Continue reading
