I just returned from a baby shower here in Manhattan. After 4 hours of conversations with moms and moms-to-be and wanna-be-moms before their clock stops ticking, I am now, more than ever, aware that all of us women are searching for the same things. This Sunday afternoon outing has validated that my time and life energy devoted to writing this book, “The Greatest Job on Earth: Extraordinary Parenting” was extremely well-spent. For some of us, writing a book means that you place yourself in a bubble, you cut off from the world, you go into a quiet, still place where you can listen to the message inside of you, then you spend an inordinate amount of hours putting all of this data down on paper (or laptop ) in a logical, funny, non-boring, exciting, dynamic, intelligent yet easy-to-understand, sequential, and original way. Piece of cake, right? As a result of this long, arduous process, some of us writers may find that we have lost touch with this population that we have been so busy writing for. Being out of NYC for almost all of the last 2 years, being away from other humans for long periods of time, traveling to a different foreign country every month for the last year, has made me so hungry to hear once again what people’s everyday life experiences are. Fortunately, what I am hearing at all of the birthday gatherings, house warming parties, baby showers and social events since I have been back is the same as what I have been hearing for the last 25 years when I was spending every day as a Therapist and Acupuncturist. Nothing has changed. The need is still the same, and the message I am delivering is still completely addressing our needs as humans. Whew! So glad the world didn’t change while I was away. Of course, I would prefer for all of these challenges to have evaporated in my absence, however I would be pretty bummed if I had wasted the last 2 years of my life!
Listening to these women today at the baby shower grapple for answers of what to do when their 3-year-old gets so angry and tries to poke his mom right in the eyes, or what to do when their 3-month-old just doesn’t want to sleep - EVER, or what to do if Mr Right never comes along and no one chooses them to be their wife and they never get a baby of their own, or how to deal with the reality that she is 42 and the fertility treatments are still not working after 2 years and she has been paying out of pocket since the insurance policy ran out months ago makes me acutely aware of how incredibly difficult life can be. We all need to search for the places and people that help guide us through these times, decisions, and life events. It’s a very good feeling to know that you have devoted your whole life to a particular thing and you’ve actually figured out a few things. You wake up one day and you realize that you have the exact tools that these other people are looking for. The more you hear what others are needing, the more you realize how well you know this particular thing. I am extremely hopeful that “The Greatest Job on Earth” will serve those individuals who are searching for the answers to the latest challenge that life has thrown at them. I am also grateful for all of the years of reading what others have to say about all of these things and look forward to passing on these amazing sources of inspiration and practical answers to life to others.

One of the hardest things to do as a Parent is to let them go. I just sent my 3 off to Nashville to live full time to pursue their music career as a girl band. The 4th one is in college in Philadelphia. If you think it's hard raising them....just wait til you see how hard it is to live without them. The constant cleaning, the endless homework, the millions of meals, the decisions and endless teaching of morals and values was all a walk in the park compared to how difficult this is. At least when they are there, you have some form of control over their life....you have some say...some way of being there for them as a guide and influence. But once they're out the door, all you can do is trust that they will be safe and happy, and of course hope with all your might that all of their dreams will come true. I used to hate when people would say to me..."Oh honey. Enjoy it now because these years go by so fast!" There were so many days that I thought, "If I have to wash this floor one more time, I'm gonna lose my mind!" And now I see that all of those people were absolutely right. It DOES go by SO fast!
In my book, "The Greatest Job on Earth: Extraordinary Parenting", I have a whole chapter devoted to Independence. I believe this is one of the greatest gifts we can give them. It's much harder to let them go ...to let them figure it out on their own. I truly believe that if you want them to grow and develop into extraordinary people, we as Parents have to do the harder thing - let them go. Let them decide for themselves. Let them choose what is best for themselves. Let them find what it is that defines them. They are not us. And my experience is that a lot of us Parents fall into the trap of placing on our kids what we think is best...what we think is right....what we believe. Who is to say that what is right for us is right for them? It is only for each individual human to say. It's easy to make them little clones of us. The hard part is to set them free and let them blossom into who THEY decide they should be. And miss them terribly in the process.

Today is the first day of my Blog. I have just had my first book published and I am anxious to share it with everyone. Here is the cover. My book, "The Greatest Job on Earth: Extraordinary Parenting" is about the relationship between adults and the humans they bring into the world. Because our world has changed so dramatically, I believe we need a new model of Parenting today. I think you are going to love this book. It's fun to read, filled with lots of great stories, and most importantly, it will open your eyes to a way of Parenting that you may not have seen before reading this book. A lot of people believe we have to be a certain way with our kids because it is the only way that they will grow up to be respectful, intelligent, and productive people. I think this is a misconception. The biggest advantage I have in speaking on the subject of Parenting is that I am now on the other side of it and I can look back and see what worked and what did not. My 4 daughters are now 25, 23, 21, and 19 years old. I have also had the huge advantage of working for 25 years with my patients as a Psychologist and Acupuncturist and seeing what has worked for them and what has failed miserably. You know what they say, hind sight is 20/20. We are all shooting in the dark when we first start out as new Parents but Parenting is too serious of a job to just be winging it. I am extremely passionate about this subject and I am anxious for all of you to read my book! I think I have figured out a lot of things that may not be clear to most people in the beginning. Tune in often for more and more of my philosophy of Extraordinary Parenting.
Here is a photo of my 4 extraordinary human beings that I have had the privilege of getting to know since I was 23 years old