This is Part 1 of a 2 part series - Getting Old I am 68 years of age and retired, so I suppose I am considered old. In our politically correct times, I am called either a "senior citizen" or "chronologically gifted." What is aging? How do we react to it? These questions are no longer academic for me. When I was in my teens, I thought that...

What is your financial nature? Are you painstakingly careful with your money or are you known to live beyond your means and spend it as soon as you get it? Would they call you a cheapskate or overly generous? Maybe you don’t realize it, but the money you control has the power to affect several generations in a positive or negative way. Where...

Letting go of my children has always been difficult for me. I often fear the unknown. Each time one of my children encounters a new stage, I am confronted by a sense of inadequacy. When my children reached the age where others began to influence them, I knew that my self-esteem needed to be in check. Suddenly my children's lives weren't all about...

Do you remember what it was like waiting for your parents to read your report card? I remember it not always being a pleasant experience. Especially if I knew there was a low grade on it. I can see it in the eyes of my children on report card day when I get home from work. Their eyes are either twinkling with excitement or downcast with uncertainty....

"So, what do you want to be when you grow up?" When our son Bill was four or five, he carried around a wrench and pushed around a big yellow Tonka truck. He greatly admired the man that came to pump the septic tank - that big truck, the hoses and wrench, and oh, yes, the gloves!!! He almost never played in his room. Dan, our second son, carried...

Parents want their child to have good self-esteem. However, self-esteem doesn’t come naturally to children. It is something that must be fostered, developed, nurtured and grown. Following these four tips can help. Show them you value them Let your children know you love them. This is done through praise and through direct expressions...

My father’s suicide catapulted me into a time of deep grief, a time when I questioned all I thought I knew about God, while clinging to Him daily for the strength to get through the pain. In those first shock-filled days after I heard the news that my father had hung himself in the basement of our home, my heart would scream: "NO, NO, don’t...