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As we move into our later years, along with all the other concerns for our health and welfare, Alzheimer's disease is a horrifying specter we're all aware of. This report takes a look at the illness itself, while this... more

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Here's an interesting article on mothers in politics that starts out with Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton, then talks about how tough it is to combine the parenting and and public service ... for women.

Unlike their male colleagues, the perception was a third option was not available: a young family... more

As always, items of interest have been piling up around me, and today is the day I'm sifting through what I need to pass along and what I should toss. Since I recently wrote about how darned guilty parents are, I'll begin today with a story headlined: Working mum guilt wears off.

An Australian survey of 1600 parents showed that... more

My eldest, a lovely daughter now thirty-seven-years-old ... how the heck did THAT happen? ... is a very busy executive. She has a tough job that demands she be available, and she must respond quickly to questions and demands.

In addition to almost endless phone calls, emails come at her like snowflakes to Minnesota in January, and all need some at least some attention. In her continuing efforts to stay on top of things, she got herself a BlackBerry.

Lucky me!

Her new ability to communicate instantly had made... more

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Parents in both Australia and the and the UK take the rap for fat kids. Now, of course, it's a political hot potato (baked, with butter AND sour cream):

Labor today said that by blaming parents for childhood... more

There are so many things to consider over the course of making the decision to adopt a child. Although once undertaken it may feel like leaping from a precipice into uncharted waters without a life vest, it's usually a very long walk to that edge, with every step considered carefully, and frequent thoughts of turning back. The deciding process is arduous, and eventually gets to the international?/domestic?, boy?/girl?, baby?/older child? range of questions, which actually signals that, yes, you've climbed the mountain and the adoption... more

Cj has a new word: puppies!

With uncanny timing, one of our dogs, all female and the rest spayed, Dinah (as in Dinah-saur), gave birth to seven ... count 'em seven ... puppies on Mother's Day.

You may be thinking this is really old news, but in this part of the world Mother's Day was last Sunday ... as in the-day-before-yesterday.

For some reason, British Mother's Day, also called "Mothering Sunday", which is what they follow here, is in March. This has confused me for years, always sneaking up when I so don't... more

It doesn't take much to start heated debates on web groups. It could be that this is the case especially when the group is adoption-related topic-wise, but I wouldn't know if others are just as quick to rile as I don't often frequent sites that address other interests. At the moment, members on various groups are up in arms, and at each other's throats, about, amongst other things, baby safe havens, a Chinese adoptee's bat mitzvah, the... more

I mentioned this on the International Blog the last time I was able to post, and while this one is working I'll put it here, too, for those who might not see the other ...

I would like to offer my sincere apologies to anyone commenting on my blogs or emailing me at the blog email if I am slow to respond.

I'm still having a great deal of trouble getting my computer and the blog technical stuff to speak the same language, so there are days at a time when I'm not able to accomplish much at all and end up having to send my posts to my editor to post for me. I'm often not able to see my own blogs once they're up, so have no idea if there are comments, and the blog email is just... more

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Another concern, of course, is teen pregnancy.

The consequence of starting out life as the child of a teen mother can be illustrated by the following stark comparison: The poverty rate for children born to teenage mothers who have never married and who did not graduate from high school is 78 percent. On the other hand, the poverty rate for children born to women over age 20 who are currently married... more