“To change one\’s life: Start immediately. Do it flamboyantly. No exceptions.” ~ William James Doesn\’t that quotation sound like cheerleaders at half time? Well, some people leap into change to keep tears away. Some drop like lead in water. Others let themselves cry, rest, pause, meander, and unfold. There is no right or wrong way to handle change. When children are packing up and leaving, the whole family feels the change, even the pets. Amy called me and said that she was overeating, sleeping a lot, exercising less and making lists that could wallpaper a bedroom. She... Read More

Most people are looking for happiness and long for that true feeling of success, peace and serenity. It\’s what we all strive for in our “fast-paced, get-stuff-done” type of lifestyle. Being happy is a choice you face every day of your life. And while we all know that happiness can help with stress, did you also know that it can be a decisive factor in your success, your rise to the top. The pursuit of happiness begins with learning to slow down and have fun. Taking just ten minutes a day can make a huge difference in your life. Not taking that 10 minutes a day to recharge your batteries... Read More

The house is quiet now. All the children have left, and I am starting the therapeutic work of picking up from the chaos. I move slowly, bone-tired yet unable to relax. I\’m putting down on the coffee table the breakable items that were moved to higher, safer ground. I\’m fluffing the sofa pillows that were stacked to form a fort. I\’m straightening the throw rug that was skewed from sliding feet. I\’m wiping off sticky piano keys and putting the top down. Now I go to the bedroom where the grandchildren slept. I\’m changing the sheets that were pulled up in a wrinkly... Read More

To hear many relationship “experts” tell it, men are still stuck in primitive, caveman mentality. These experts admonish women to be passive and play hard to get. Why? Because, in order for a woman to interest them, they claim that men need to be on the hunt. If men aren\’t made to feel the need to pursue and capture they won\’t feel sufficiently masculine and driven to conquer and protect the woman who excites these primitive urges. But these experts never say how true love and real romance are created and kept alive once the marriage vows have been taken. What does a... Read More

A mother told me during a telephone consultation that her daughter is a junior in high school and crying. Crying because her friends are seniors and leaving for college. She doesn\’t know if they will even be friends once they go to college. Those tears brought questions to the mom. What will I be like when my daughter leaves? I know it isn\’t for two years, but already I am dreading the empty nest. I just love her friends coming over and all the school activities my daughter and I share. I don\’t\’ care how messy the kitchen is or how I have to dash here and there.... Read More

“There is more to life than increasing its speed” Gandhi I love the feeling of the word summer. Playtime is expected and we are even given more light. Whether our children are at home or away , I think we need to plan our own playtime , which of course all of us know, but and yes there is a but . . . we wait to see if our kids will be home or if they might want to go to dinner or the beach or a movie. We aren\’t dependent. We simply love having time with our children. Isn\’t it a challenge when they first come back home to not wait and see what they are going to do?... Read More

By Dina Santorelli Ask any grandparent what they\’ve learned after 50 or 60 years of living on earth, after retirement parties, children\’s weddings, bar mitzvahs, Christenings, surgeries, globe-trotting travels and more, and they\’ll tell you this, that everything they needed to learn, they learned from their grandchildren, from those tiny human beings who have graced the planet for just a few years, months or even seconds. Culled from an informal poll of grandparents across the country, here are our top 10 favorite things that grandparents say they\’ve learned from their... Read More

There is a particular verse, performed by Sinead O\’Connor… “Thank you for loving me, Thank you for seeing me, Thank you for hurting me, Thank you for tearing me apart.” While it\’s possible to interpret this lyric as an ode to abuse, you\’d miss the deepest meaning if you headed off in that direction. Instead, let\’s look at what it means to be loved. Truly loved. It doesn\’t mean dancing in the daisies without a care in the world. And it doesn\’t mean hiding behind a mask for fear that who you are isn\’t truly loveable. It does mean... Read More

May, the month of Mother\’s Day, kids on the way to graduating high school and college, getting a job or planning a wedding. May. May we… find excitement in figuring out what is next for us have new visions of how to relate to our adult children have faith that our children have learned to make good decisions for themselves feel okay about them not knowing what is next for them realize they left our nests because they were ready to fly Empty nesting is the stage of life where the days of planning meals, carpooling kids and overseeing homework are replaced with the exciting days... Read More

“Who do you think you are?” “Don\’t get a swelled head!” “Remember where you came from.” “Think you\’re too good for us?” “People like us don\’t go to places like that.” That list of hold-backs could go on and on. And every one of us-including you- has been subjected to some form of commandment to NOT break out beyond where you came from, to not leave your “station” in order to be truly fabulous. Whether it came from a demanding and controlling parent, a terrified and anxious teacher, an abusive... Read More