No matter what is going on Never Give up Develop the heart Too much energy in your country Is spent developing the mind Instead of the heart Be compassionate Not just to your friends but to everyone Be compassionate Work for peace in your heart and in the world Work for peace and I Say again Never Give up No matter what is happening No matter what is going on around you Never Give up —H.H. the XIV Dalai We all know the day is coming, whether that day is the beginning of empty nest or the day our adult children are home for a visit and then leave. Is there prevention for sorrow? I believe... Read More

Fundamental to all life on the planet . . . is the fact that we\’re all different from each other. And yet what do most people do when they encounter those differences? They either change themselves “to fit in” or they try to change the other person. Here\’s why . . . When you want to change somebody, the truth is you are scared–under threat. You only want things to be the way you want them to be. You want control rather than connection. This is not to say that if someone is bothering you, you shouldn\’t ask for change. Of course you need to speak up... Read More

By Susie Vanderlip for GRAND Magazine I remember when I was in eighth grade, spin the bottle was about as racy as life got. Most of my friends were having harmless flirtations and first boy­friends. No one I knew drank regularly on the weekend; no girls were providing gratuitous oral sex to the boys; no one was cutting on their arms with razorblades or smoking pot. Today, adolescence is very, very different, and far more difficult than in our day. Our grandchildren face significantly more dangerous options, and they have peers modeling such choices in their faces every day. Of all the options... Read More

by Mary Ann Cooper for GRAND Magazine You might feel as if you don\’t know where to start looking-if you\’re a single grand-to find someone to share all that life has to offer you in these wonderful years of exploration and new adventures. You\’ve done the bar scene and been “hooked up” by friends, but isn\’t there a better way? Yes, in fact, there are 10 different ways to meet the new special person in your life. 1. Bury your nose in a book. Your friends probably told you that you\’d never meet anyone by being a bookworm. “Put down those books... Read More

I have received emails from parents saying, “I can\’t believe it. I am having fun in my empty nest.” Sure their face brightens when the children call or come to visit. A father said to a friend when they were waiting in line for the movies, “Watch her face (referring to the mother in line) when I ask about how her daughter is doing. The mother instantly grins, eyes twinkle and she gets very talkative.” I don\’t think that reaction needs to be changed. What has changed, slowly, is parents are enjoying their free time and the silence in their home. They are changing... Read More

When you think of people who are living a fabulous life who comes to mind? Bill Gates? Meryl Streep? Some prince, princess, or high dignitary? Bill Gates is the richest man in the world and he is deeply involved in helping people around the world. That\’s not only fabulous, that\’s almost fabled. But if you knew someone who was going about their life without fame, wealth, and public adulation, would you say that that person is living a fabulous life? For most people the answer would be “No.” And that makes the lives of 99%-plus of the people alive at any time un-fabulous. Are... Read More

Acting and film-making schools can give your grandchild poise and confidencey By Mary Ann Cooper for GRAND Magazine You may be a proud grand who thinks your grandchild “oughta be in pictures,” because you see that same teen or preteen flourishing in the spotlight. If so, you might think about enrolling your grandchild in acting or film school. It would give the child real-world, hands-on experience as well as give both of you a souvenir DVD or just good old-fashioned memories to last a lifetime. Lots of grandparents enroll their grandkids and pay for the tuition. This has less to... Read More

When our precious ones were younger, we were dashing. Now they are still precious, but we aren\’t dashing towards them. Love, what is it you are dashing towards and what is ok for you to simply sit and ponder? My empty nester friends, who are single, want to sleep through the day and night of Valentine\’s Day. Married ones long for surprise. All of them remember and love the laced hearts they made with their children, as well as, the pink iced sugar cookies and red construction paper all over the floor. Change again. Children aren\’t home. Lovers are gone. Marriages need the... Read More

Welcome to a new year. Women are searching for new meaning now that their parental roles are changing. What do you need? What are your gifts? What are you waving goodbye to? “Be not afraid of greatness; some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them.” –William Shakespeare What does feeling great mean to you? At this stage in our lives, we re-define what matters to us. I hear from the parents I work with that they all want to feel happy, to find new meaning, and to enjoy healthy relationships with their adult children. That would... Read More

The celebration of the New Year is the oldest of all continuing holidays. It was observed 4000 years ago by the ancient Babylonians and has continued, with only minor interruptions, into modern times. Anything with a history that long and enduring clearly has deep significance for the human psyche. Perhaps it\’s simply a celebration of being alive, having made it through another circle of the sun. But for many of us there is also the recognition of death and rebirth, a letting go of what has been and surrendering to what is yet to be. Philosophers make the distinction between “being”–that... Read More