The Battle of The Party Themes
It's Still The Economy, Stupid
Poll: Obama Faring Poorly Among Racists
Palin's No Shrinking Violet
Danger Signals
Change vs. Change
Obama Off-Balance from Palin Flip-Flops on O'Reilly
Distant Drums At Sarah's Party
Taking the Pulse
Game Changer
The Unexamined Life
The Grand Old Party Line
JFK: Democrats' Role Model?
Palin, Pregnancy And The Pulpit
The Big 5-0
What Do Women Want Now?
Farewell To An American Hero
Palin-Bashing Press Keeps Swinging And Missing
Want Real Change? Quit Nominating Lawyers!
Harper's Index
Don't They Have Birth Control Up In Alaska?
Professor Bush's Economic Nostrum
Saving The GOP And The Unbearable Lightness of Being Sarah Palin
Building The Bridge
Married Liberals With Children
Mosdirection In Minnesota
Logical Consequencse
Which Ticket Really Will Deliver Change Voters Want?
Palin's Problem
Game On: Let The Race Begin
The Rush Is On For Palin, GOP
The Role of A Lifetime
What's So Terrific About Mccain's Palin Pick?
Why Obama's "Community Organizer" Days Are A Joke
A.S.P. -- After Sarah Palin
Democrats In Trouble
McCain-Palin Will Flush Big-Spending GOP Ways
Most Sarcastic Campaign Ever
Report From A Forgotten War (5th and Last in a Series)
My Brain Tumor
Don't 'Misunderestimate' Palin's Power
Words On Words: How Do You Say 'Hypocrisy' In Romney-Speak?
On Shooting Taggers: Why Conservatives And Liberals Differ
Mccain Wants Moose Hunter In White House
Me For President
Welcome Back Dad
A Human-Resources Handbook
Palin's Gender Alone Won't Sway Women Voters
Romancing The Vote
Palin's State Reaps The Windfall Profits McCain Decries
One Blessing of A Life
Debates Count More Than Running Mates
Media To Republicans: We're Sorry
Executive Experience Is a Joke -- Opinion
What Standards?
Blind Defense of Koran Abrogates Reality
We've Come A Long Way, Baby
Are You Better Off ?
The Invisible President



Martha Randolph Carr
Martha's Big Adventure - A Parental Guide to
Grown Children
Martha Randolph Carr 8/7/2008
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Martha’s Big Adventure – A Parental Guide to Grown Children

By Martha Randolph Carr

There is really only one skill required in order to be a good parent once your children have grown into adulthood. It is the ability to appear supportive without really saying anything. Any comment that borders on opinion travels through the air waves and lands as judgment in the fragile ears of our children. An innocent remark about how a new car looks or an old job is doing and the wheels start turning in our offspring’s head.

“What did you mean by that?” asks our incredulous twenty-something. It’s as if we’ve just confirmed their worst suspicions that we had always hoped for more out of them. Truly, if our children are paying their bills and not asking us for money we’re already on the road to parental bliss. If they’re also putting money into any kind of investment plan and have some kind of faith in some higher being, have started looking around at someone nice to settle down with and might volunteer at something while cutting back on the processed foods, well, that would be nice as well. However, all of that we as parents would be wise to keep to ourselves for a couple of very important reasons.

The first is because the time has passed to guide our children toward some bright and shining future. They’re
actually in that future and it’s their turn to pick and choose what it’s going to look like. Every time we butt in we’re actually telling them they’re getting it wrong, try again. That can be a real confidence blaster.

The consequences of over-parenting any adult can end up being that our grown children stop trying to create bigger and better and start settling for smaller and what appears safer. The results of that are often a lot of great opportunities get left on the table. Worst case scenario is that the child is living in your basement. No one wants to see that.

Risk is a necessary part of the big picture and its cousin, failure is vital as well. The first adds a certain amount of exhilaration to life and pulls the idea of faith out of theory and into practice. The second teaches us what we want to keep or discard in the description that is our lives.

Failure is also a much better teacher than success when it comes to building a nice, big fat dream. When we find ourselves able to stand back up again and can see how to solve a problem a piece at a time we also catch on that there actually is a solution to just about anything. There will be some compromise, some letting go, a few bumps and bruises but even the worst of it can be resolved. We learn to take that with us as we move forward.

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CANADA When is supper COLOUR
By Tab - The Calgary Sun * Posted 09/14/2007
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CANADA When is supper COLOUR
© Copyright 2007  Tab - All Rights Reserved.
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