Going Gypsy and the Story of its Cover (you may judge the book by it)!

Risking shameless self-promotion, we bring you this story of how the cover to our book GOING GYPSY came to be…
CONTINUE READING >>

Risking shameless self-promotion, we bring you this story of how the cover to our book GOING GYPSY came to be…
CONTINUE READING >>

Things We Wish We’d Known BEFORE We Sent Our Kids to College

It’s that time of year again, and many new empty nesters are sending a fledgling off to college for the first time. Here are some DOs and DON’Ts from your seasoned GypsyNesters on how to get through that first semester without losing your mind.

 1. Don’t start off on a bad note. It’s hard to let our kids go. The day our babies head out on their own is a tough one for any parent. Because of her self-awareness about her emotional outbursts, Veronica… CONTINUE READING >> 

It’s that time of year again, and many new empty nesters are sending a fledgling off to college for the first time. Here are some DOs and DON’Ts from your seasoned GypsyNesters on how to get through that first semester without losing your mind.

 1. Don’t start off on a bad note. It’s hard to let our kids go. The day our babies head out on their own is a tough one for any parent. Because of her self-awareness about her emotional outbursts, Veronica… CONTINUE READING >> 

The Old College Pry

How do we know when we’ve become too involved in our offspring’s college education?

Is it okay to call a professor to dispute a test score? Should we proofread papers? Should we have access to grades if we are paying tuition? Should we storm the Dean’s office?

This recovering helicopter mom got the straight dope from college professors – and you won’t believe their stories… CONTINUE READING >>

How do we know when we’ve become too involved in our offspring’s college education?

Is it okay to call a professor to dispute a test score? Should we proofread papers? Should we have access to grades if we are paying tuition? Should we storm the Dean’s office?

This recovering helicopter mom got the straight dope from college professors – and you won’t believe their stories… CONTINUE READING >>

Grandchildish Behavior

I’ve had two unexpected conversations recently that have given me pause for reflection. The first was with my father-in-law while dining over Mexican food in Kansas. While catching him up with our kids’ lives, he asked me if they were dating anyone of note. I told him that at the moment there were no significant others. Then, the bolt out of the blue,”Oh, you must be sad that you won’t be having grandchildren anytime soon.”

The next exchange was with my daughters, The Piglet and Decibel.

“All of our friends’ mothers are on crazy grandma patrol. How come you aren’t nagging us about having babies?”

It started out as gentle teasing, but… CONTINUE READING  >>

I’ve had two unexpected conversations recently that have given me pause for reflection. The first was with my father-in-law while dining over Mexican food in Kansas. While catching him up with our kids’ lives, he asked me if they were dating anyone of note. I told him that at the moment there were no significant others. Then, the bolt out of the blue,”Oh, you must be sad that you won’t be having grandchildren anytime soon.”

The next exchange was with my daughters, The Piglet and Decibel.

“All of our friends’ mothers are on crazy grandma patrol. How come you aren’t nagging us about having babies?”

It started out as gentle teasing, but… CONTINUE READING  >>

Life After Kids

When Veronica and I began to think about our life after raising kids one of the first things we did was Google “empty nesters.” We wanted to see if anyone else was looking at this the same way that we were. With a feeling of “isn’t it great that the kids have moved out, and we’ll have life to ourselves again?” CONTINUE READING >> 

When Veronica and I began to think about our life after raising kids one of the first things we did was Google “empty nesters.” We wanted to see if anyone else was looking at this the same way that we were. With a feeling of “isn’t it great that the kids have moved out, and we’ll have life to ourselves again?” CONTINUE READING >> 

Who’s Kidding Who?

The last task of raising a child is letting them go.

Allowing them to flap their cute little wings and fly… giving them a gentle nudge out of the nest to get them airborne.

OK, sometimes it’s more like a hard shove off a cliff… but then the harder transition from the parent-child to an adult-to-adult relationship must be made.

This process doesn’t happen overnight… CONTINUE  READING >>

The last task of raising a child is letting them go.

Allowing them to flap their cute little wings and fly… giving them a gentle nudge out of the nest to get them airborne.

OK, sometimes it’s more like a hard shove off a cliff… but then the harder transition from the parent-child to an adult-to-adult relationship must be made.

This process doesn’t happen overnight… CONTINUE  READING >>

How Many Islands Make a Thousand Islands?

We got a taste of the 1000 Islands—and it’s sooooo much more than the salad dressing!

We wanted to see every fabulous nook and wonderful cranny of the islands. Join us as we soar overhead in a helicopter, take in Millionaire’s Row by boat, and find out what it takes to be an island these days… CONTINUE READING >> 

We got a taste of the 1000 Islands—and it’s sooooo much more than the salad dressing!

We wanted to see every fabulous nook and wonderful cranny of the islands. Join us as we soar overhead in a helicopter, take in Millionaire’s Row by boat, and find out what it takes to be an island these days… CONTINUE READING >>