The Boomers are graying, and it's pretty clear that the world is not ready for us ... or at least the US part of the world. In the year 2000 there were 35 million Americans over the age of sixty-five. It's predicted that in 2030 ... the year I'll be 79 ... there will twice that many. Got that picture? SEVENTY MILLION, that's one in five, Americans will be senior citizens.

The baby boom snuck up on the world post-WWII, so school... more

The world grew a little smaller this week, as diplomatic relations have just been forged between Guatemala and a country just down wind from me (sort of), Mauritius.

From the Mauritian capitol, Port Louis:

Government House said this decision was guided by the mutual desire to initiate and develop ties of friendship and cooperation between the two states in political, trade, economic, cultural, and technical... more

In a closed adoption, the identity of the child's birth mother and other family information remains confidential and is not accessible to the child. In an open adoption, this information is accessible to the child or limited information is available to the adoptee. In the most open situation of all, the child, his adoptive family, and his birth family interact more or less freely. The findings of the Minnesota/Texas Adoption Research Project (MTARP) suggest that an open adoption is a good thing for the adoptive family, the child, as well as the... more

JCICS is reporting today that there is a letter being circulating in Guatemala among certain officials declaring that adoptions will cease after October 1st, 2006. This is a separate incident from the issues occuring with President Berger and specifically his wife. JCICS is also declaring this letter to be a fake according to their information from discussions... more

I was thinking about make-up today and I have no idea why. Quite frankly, I hate makeup, but understand the necessity of playing the corporate game. So, I wear makeup. Granted, I don’t wear much makeup, but I did learn how to apply lipstick without ending up with spots on my teeth.

It’s always been a joke among my family and friends that things were a little backwards in my mother/daughter relationship. When my friends were complaining about how their mothers didn’t understand them and their mother’s didn’t let them do anything, I generally kept my... more

The National Heart Gallery began in 2001 in New Mexico as a unique way to feature the personality and individuality of foster children through the use of nontraditional photography while raising adoption awareness within the community.

.

. .

. .

In the past six years, the idea has spread nationwide due to coverage in broadcast and print media such as ABC’s World News Tonight. Each photograph... more

Isn’t that is part of what life is all about? Weighing your options and then making decisions according? For instance, say that you decide that you want to sleep in one morning, but know that you really need to get to work on time.

You consider which is more important and then make your decision based on an analysis of the situation. Hmmm, you say to yourself, “it sure would feel great to sleep in and get some more sleep.” Maybe one or two mornings you might could get away with it – or more – depending on your job.

However, if your rational... more

As I had written before, I knew that this week was going to be a difficult one because of my dad's birthday on Wednesday. Here are some of the ways that I've coped with the mourning that surrounded the day:

I gave Chris and the kids and my clients and friends a heads up about what the week would be like for me. Knowing in advance that I was going to be sad and somewhat unpredictable and unavailable, I knew that Chris would need a concrete reminder that things might be a little to a lot off. I left him the same sticky note on his keys every morning that said,... more

At the link http://www.uexpress.com/dearabby/?uc_full_date=20060910 you can read a letter that was sent to Dear Abby regarding a natural mother who relinquished a child to adoption 4 years ago and asking for advice on how to tell future children of the child that was relinquished to adoption.

Did Abby misunderstand the question? The natural mother was really asking for support and information on how to tell her children, not whether to tell them. The response that was written... more

Ten is a fun age for raising kids, even special kids. And while LuLu is not 10-years-old in much of her behaviors or social interactions, she is definitely turning into a "kid" and not so much of a "baby".

Her birthday gifts, in addition to the coveted chimpanzee, were varied. She got lots of books and educational materials from dear ol' Mom & Dad (nothing like picking out things for Ladybug Elementary.) While she was very interested in them all, it wasn't long until she declared that she was disappointed in the presents she'd received.

LuLu... more