How to Talk to a Loved One with Dementia by J’Nel Wright Does the following sound familiar? Bill always looked forward to greeting his grandmother after school. But when Grandma no longer recognized him and even threatened to call the police, Bill and his family realized they needed to change the way they communicated with Read more
Beautifully Mixed by Donna Scrafano As a young social worker, in the 1980s, I had the grand opportunity to work with a wonderful psychologist. She taught me many valuable lessons. One thing she said continues to resonate in my mind: “God made mixed children extra beautiful because he knew the special challenges they would face.” Read more
Family 2.0 by Christina Fain In 2011 my family entered a phase of what I call “Family 2.0.” About a week before my son took his driver’s test, two pink lines showed up on the stick. My children would be 16 years apart. After the shock, terror, and disbelief wore off, I simply looked at Read more
The Dreadful What-Ifs by Donna L. Scrafano Oh, what we do to ourselves by attempting to anticipate the future! During the years I worked as a Human Services professional, I often advised clients to relieve themselves of the “what-ifs”—those annoying, self-doubting questions of what may or may not happen, questions that cause us to worry Read more
Finding Yourself in the Empty Nest by Christina Fain Undeniably, the infamous midlife crisis is not a myth, but we tend to associate this with balding men driving red convertibles. We don’t have an image of women navigating this time of life, not even a funny one! This transitional period affects women, specifically mothers, on Read more
GRIEF – A PERSONAL JOURNEY Written by Donna L Scrafano My first exposure to grief came on December 3, 1963. That was the day I had lost my maternal grandmother, twenty-three days before my tenth birthday. I was in fifth grade. Eleven days previously on November 22, the nun who taught us at St. Anthony’s Read more
Sex in Later Life Reprinted from https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/sexuality-later-life Many people want and need to be intimate with others as they grow older. This includes the desire to continue an active, satisfying sex life. With aging, there are things to know. What Are Normal Changes? Normal aging brings physical changes in both men and women. These changes Read more
Although I was also a single mom, and then became a single grandmother, I embraced the experience. Advising my parents about the new challenge my daughter and I would be encountering was probably the most difficult task. Why? Because my grand child would be bi-racial, African American and Caucasian. Although I had a multi-cultural mind set, that was not the cultural norm I came from. I had to fight my way through the limitations and barriers of my family of origin. That's another topic, for a later article. Read more
Safe Haven Written by Bradley A. Huebner Grandparents play protector with their dust-free houses, piping-hot pies and uplifting life lessons. They provide a safe haven for grandchildren. For a grandkid reared in a dysfunctional home, that escape can mean everything. Mamaga lived over the bridge and through the woods on acres of wilderness nestled just Read more
I invited Mom over for dinner to see our new house. Mom has also recently moved to be closer to me. After spending her entire adult life in Upstate New York, she uprooted and moved to be near her beloved daughter. Well, actually, I think she moved so I could help take care of her, but that’s for another story... “What are you doing? It looks fine.” my husband comments seeming perplexed. “It’s my mother. She’s going to find everything wrong, so I want to minimalize her menu of items to choose from” I gently explain. Although, I’m fairly certain he already knows this. It wasn’t his first rodeo with Mom. Read more
