Grandchildren

Lulu and Me

LuLu and Us

I've had plenty of time to observe the dog walking parades everywhere throughout Covid and the runway of breeds to choose from is endless. But the dog that gets me crouching and cooing are these little golden doodles.   Shamelessly, I barely look at the human at the end of the leash and talk directly to the puppy and just listen for the answer.  "Oh you are the cutest, you are so cute." And then, in the rudest of unapologetic behaviors I nod to the ancillary human asking -- "Are you empty nested, how did you decide to get a pup?" And so the stories begin.  My interviewing  of humans has been a courage building process. I have unconsciously been looking for the one thing that will push me to over ride my better instincts and my husband which are screaming at me as to why it makes no sense to get a dog now....
Felice skiing

How We See Ourselves: The Meet And Greet

I've been meeting a lot of new people lately as my husband and I have settled into our winter life in Park City, Utah for the second year. And so, at every new social introduction I am greeted with the same question..."It's so nice to meet you? What do you do?" So many decades of living have resulted in a full mantle of mini monikers...a mini series with multiple seasons. A bookshelf full of titles and chapters that need serious editing.  But which one will I pull off the shelf first? ...
Smiling grandparents with grandkids in the kitchen, close up

The Unspoken Wedge Between Parents and Grandparents

This post originally appeared on The Atlantic and we highly recommend reading this if you are a grandparent! Each generation has its own norms for parenting. Arguing over the differences can be an emotional minefield. One of the sweetest parts of being a grandparent is being invited by your own adult children to spend time with your grandkids. But the invitation comes with a few conditions, and in even the most loving families, grandparents ignore these rules on a regular basis. For many reasons, they can’t help overstepping the boundaries, whether because of a prickliness at their own kids telling them what to do, a sincere belief that they know more about raising children than their kids do, or, more poignantly, a resistance to the harsh reality that they’ve aged out of the cherished role of family decision maker....