Parenting. . . it’s not what you expected, is it? Maybe you are first time parents, and the idea of snuggling a smiley content baby was crushed when the baby was fussy, postpartum anxiety set in, or health problems were discovered. Or you are raising young children and their tantrums exhaust you, their never-ending needs overwhelm you, and they just won’t listen to you! Perhaps you have entered the teen years. . . bigger kids, bigger problems, right? Whatever you say, they know better. Whatever you do, they are so embarrassed! Whatever you ask, they argue against it. You hope they make wise decisions, fall in with the right crowd, and stay healthy! But then you find out they are depressed, using drugs, promiscuous, or starving themselves. They are anxious, caught stealing, getting in fights, or wishing they weren’t alive. Hold them tighter? Let them live and learn? What do you do?

Possibly you are entering the empty next years. . . but once a parent, always a parent. Your “kids” are moving away, going off to college, starting careers, and planning a life outside your immediate reach. What now? Who is the person you shared a bed with the last 25 years? And what about your own parents? Where do they fit in? Maybe you are at the point when the roles have reversed and now you find yourself caring for them as they age. Or maybe they are still healthy and well and trying to parent you in ways that no longer feel helpful.

Family matters…