best transition ever: grandparenting
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Don’t Want To Talk About It Sitting In My Empty Nest

OK, I will start with what I hear no one wants to talk about. Is this true for you? “I want to do fun and new things, but I hate the driving at night. That makes me feel so old to say it.  I sound fearful and lazy and that is not who I am.”
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Reinventing In The Empty Nest

Mothers have been emailing sharing their trial and error adventures of changing. I thought you would love to see a list: –  Photoshop–  Building websites for family and friend–  Life coaching–  Cooking school–  Mentoring at libraries –  Volunteering at Food Banks–  Hiking with a group once a month–  Going green at home–  Gardening sharing of
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Truth Telling In The Empty Nest

First let me say how wonderful it is to speak with people who say what they want to say and let themselves ask for help. I was walking with a woman who was talking about her children each living in different cities.  She thought she got that the holidays would be hard and treated herself
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Treats During Rough Times In The Empty Nest

Here is my short list of treats: 1.  Any time in my garden, topped with seeing a growth spurt from my tomatoes or orange poppies from seeds I planted.2.  Coral, I know that color isn’t IN but it is with me for lipstick and Red.3.  Not chocolate, yes bread and cheese4.  Red wine5.  Newspapers from
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Reminders For Empty Nesters

I will cut right to the chase today. 1. FOCUS ON YOURSELF2. GET REAL ABOUT YOUR EXPECTATIONS 3. STOP COMPARING YOURSELF TO OTHERS Do you need to call me on the telephone?800 446 3310, California time, Los Angeles. OK, lecture over, and you can have a refund if you didn’t get anything from it. If
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What Is Blooming For Empty Nesters?

Parents are calling me with good news and bad news.  Yes, their children are getting those acceptance emails to college and yes, this means they are really leaving in the summer. Easter and Passover are around the corner. Traditions are being reinvented. Change is inevitable.  How well have you done with changes in your past? 
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Parents, Looking Back, Do You Think You Tried To Do It All

For decades the question lives, “Are parents juggling more and more and losing themselves?” Do you feel that you gave too much to your children and lost parts of yourself along the way? You have the privilege of looking back and then passing on your mistakes and triumphs. I for sure did not rest enough,
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Empty Nesters Feel The Clock Ticking!

“Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, it’s at the end of your arm. As you get older, remember you have another hand: the first is to help yourself, the second is to help others.”— Audrey Hepburn Parents are looking forward to their children coming home for spring break. Parents are rehearsing in their
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Are Their Changes In Your Empty Nest?

I have read and received phone calls about crowded houses. Has someone moved back in? Are they are on their way?  A grandmother called me saying her daughter and grand child need to come home due to job loss.  A college son will be moving home for the summer until he finds work. His dream
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Empty Nesters Ask, “Why do you think I am crazy?”

Reinventing yourself seems to be more common these days despite the economy.  Speaking with mothers and fathers, I am hearing focused, driven parents who want something now for themselves. We all can relate to that wanting.  These are the shifts they have made in their daily living: (1) Joining a gym and getting a trainer to
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Thinking Of Going Back To Work In The Empty Nest?

I know the news is depressing. Still, parents are asking if it is a good time to go back to work. Yes. Start the process.1. List what would be fun to do part time or full time2. Interview someone in the field asking, “What frustrates you during the day. What has surprised you about this career?”3. Brush up
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A Practice for Empty Nesters

“To look at something as though we had never seen it before requires great courage.” Henry Matisse Isn’t that a fun idea? I think I will try that when I am in my winter garden. I planted tomato seeds in tiny containers in my garage, covered in saran wrap. They are just sprouting. It is
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Natalie Caine, M.A. natalie@lifeintransition.org