daughter

En español | This Labor Day, I want to take a moment to recognize the 40 million Americans who perform a great labor of love every day caring for older parents, spouses and other loved ones.  While they wouldn’t have it any other way, family caregivers often have a big job. Some are on call 24-7 and often they can’t even take a break.

When our millennial children live in another city or away at school, most of the time “out of sight” means “out of mind.” But breaking news headlines can raise our anxiety levels to high alert, and recently that seems almost a daily occurrence.

After 50, certain styles you once threw on with abandon should probably be abandoned.

Sometimes I feel like an in-house publicist for my three adult children: a text to the middle son asking him to give his sister a call; an email to the oldest telling him about his brother's time on a half- marathon; a phone call to the youngest suggesting she check in with her brothers. Why persist in trying to tighten the sibling bonds? Because adult children are often at different stages - and locations - in their lives so it takes a conscious effort to keep family ties strong. Unfortunately in this 24-7 world it is too easy to let those bonds weaken.

For Mother's Day this year, haiku poetry seemed an appropriate medium to express feelings about our moms: short and sweet; direct, descriptive, creative; gets the point across without embellishment-kind of like our moms, right?!  

There is a member of the Tuohy household who has gotten her feelings hurt because I apparently neglected to mention her in any of my AARP blogs. The exact quote to me was," I have shown her no love!" "Wow!" was my immediate response.