We've been talking about being FOREVER PARENTS. Well, what do you think about this? My daughter called me and told me she got a visit from CPS because a lady she used to use for in-home day care just reported her for neglect - Said she only fed her baby applesauce when she was three months old. At three or four months old, I remember her getting mixed food and trying to give it to her in between bottle feedings so she wouldn't be so hungry all the time. My daughter tried calling the woman several times over the summer to set up daycare for when school started, but she never returned her calls or texts. The CPS worker examined the children and looked at the home and said she felt it was a bogus call; they got them all the time. My daughter wanted to know how I felt when she told me about it. I am dealing with my own health issues now and really couldn't do anything, whereas earlier in life I would have stuck my foot in and found out what was going on and used my influence to control the situation. I froze. How do I 'feel'? I couldn't begin to say how I felt. I was angry, sad, afraid, powerless, all of them! Was I a FOREVER PARENT (grandparent) or a parent? In that moment, I just didn't know. I'm sure my daughter wanted a big reaction, but I had none. I was shocked. If these children were neglected, wouldn't I have noticed? Why would a day care owner wait months to report it? Of course, the case was closed, and the worker told my daughter that we are all just a call away from this kind of thing happening. As grandparents, what do we do? How do we, or should we, feel? As FOREVER PARENTS, we can't forget that we are still parents too. I could have interrogated her as to why such an accusation occurred; I could have cried and gone hysterical because what would people think? Or I could just be there and let her know that she is not alone. We all know different; our village is big, and we will support her through this. Well, it didn't last long, so we didn't have to gather the troops, but it was a very trying time for my daughter and her FOREVER PARENT.

Most parents become grandparents, but how many become FOREVER PARENTS? The first correct guess, according to any credible source, will win a one-on-one call (you don't have to be a grandparent).

I heard from a friend today who has problems with her son always taking his girlfriend back, and she takes advantage of him, IHO. She's kept quiet for the most part, but it is killing her because he has been doing so well when she is gone. He has two children from this woman, but she just doesn't take care of them, so he does. "We do what we can, but he has to figure it out too. We're not always going to be here," she says. What do you think I should do? I listen, but I really don't want to advise in case I am wrong! It'd be different if it were a client and not a family or friend.

I'm getting ready to launch this baby on Facebook and Instagram. If you need anything in the meantime, just use the booking tool or call me directly. Have a great weekend. PS. Let me know what's going on with you in a general conversation or via DM. Let's start a conversation. We don't have to talk about the hard stuff at first!!

The hard part was never loving our grandkids. It's everything around it — the tense conversations, the "lending," the comment made with love that somehow started a war. So many of us carry that quietly, because who do you even tell? That's why I built Heard, Not Hurt — The Grandparent Realignment: a 7-session, one-on-one coaching program where you learn to say what you feel without starting a fight, to hold a boundary without holding a grudge, and to actually enjoy your grandkids again. It's for the grandparent a single-parent family leans on — the school runs, the discipline, the rescuing — mostly without a manual and often without a thank-you. And it's completely private: just you and me, door closed. Nothing you share ever touches this group. Curious? Let's just talk first: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0/appointments/schedules/AcZssZ378m5475QORQ33YIBQS-uEKMXCoulAx3HcI5PTuwsYIV8pqXFjCo_FIQdNBgR0u_pFY5SE1Qt5 No pressure — a conversation to see if it fits, and you'll leave with something useful either way. I built this because I needed it once and it didn't exist. Now it does. Pull up a chair. — Melaney