A Life Shared: Parent Helps and Renovations

End of School Year: A Mixed Bag of Emotions

Our lives are shaped by calendars. The school calendar may be one of the most significant shapers in family life. Homeschool, private school, and public school all have a calendar with an annual beginning and end. An end of the school year can be mixed bag. Pride and grief. Excitement and sadness. New beginnings and a past full of memories. With a high school graduation, an eighth grade promotion, and a fifth grade promotion all next week; I'm feeling the weight of it all. Maybe you are too. Maybe it's graduate school for your household. Or a last year in your area before a big move. Listen in a give yourself permission to grieve. Grief can give life. It invites us to live in the present while we hold the future with open hands. Whatever your end of the school year brings, may you embrace it. Let it do it's work, so you can embrace all that is coming after the end of the school year.

Silence Kills

Local author and speaker, Scott Harvey, joined me. We talked about how business communication skills support parents. A father himself, with two daughters, we talked about: How we handle our stuff (emotions and reactions) to help our kids handle theirs How we hold emotion and logic in balance for communication with our kids Ways to know our kids, what they enjoy and value, and share that with them AND when silence can give life in communication with our kids. His book released this week. You can get a copy anywhere books are sold! Let me be clear. It is not a parenting book. As a parent, I'm glad I read it. You can learn more about it here. https://speakingofharvey.com/silence-kills/ [https://speakingofharvey.com/silence-kills/]

PMAD. Because Silence Hurts

Post-partum depression has a new name, PMAD, perinatal mood and anxiety disorder. PMAD impacts mothers, fathers, babies, families, and those they share life with. If you've ever struggled with strong emotions around pregnancy or motherhood. If you've ever wondered how a mom could disengage, rage, worry beyond worry or other behaviors, listen to this episode with guest, Paige Christian. She offers excellent information, compassionate understanding, and doable action to help moms and their families thrive in the face of PMADs. Barriers like stigma, fear, and unreliable screening measures increase suffering. Care and support are available. Moms and their families do not have to suffer alone. Paige is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the states of IL and KY. She's a Certified Family Trauma Professional through the International Association of Trauma Professionals, trained in EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) for treating simple and complex trauma from The EMDR Institute. She also has specialized training from Postpartum Support International (PSI) in perinatal/maternal mental health, including pregnancy loss, infertility, postpartum depression and anxiety, and traumatic birth experiences. With 11 years of clinical experience as a counselor, case manager, co-founder and developer of a community mental health program, and clinical supervisor over clinical staff before opening my own private practice; she offers us a solid introduction into PMAD. Interested in working with Paige for your care and wellness? You can contact her at paigechristian@joyfulnestcounseling.com Interested in support from PSI? Go to https://www.postpartum.net/ In crisis? Dial 988. There is help for you.

Baby-sitting, Dog-sitting, and Chick-fil-A

What do baby-sitting, dog-sitting, and Chick-fil-A have in common? Each one offers our kids meaningful opportunity for responsibility, initiative, and skills for the work place. Today's guest, Kelsey Durham, Executive Director of Lean Development for two local Chick-fil-A stores, offers parents and teenagers insight about applying for a first job. Want to support your kid(s) to work while they live at home? Listen and learn how to stage them now. Want your teenager to have a summer job? Listen and learn how to support them with things to do and not to do. Struggle letting go, so your kid can thrive? Parenting is a thousand letting-go's. First jobs give us lots of opportunity. May we have the courage to embrace it.

Making Memories through Conversation

Conversations we remember are a treasure. Shared stories become memories. Today's guest, Devin Marks, stumbled upon story-telling with his daughter on the way to school. Most of us can't walk our kids to school. We can capture and create moments of shared space for conversation. Listen in. Be inspired and encouraged to connect in whatever way you can with your kids, share stories, and make memories through conversation. If you need support for conversation, order a copy of my book [https://www.amazon.com/s?k=a+life+shared+ellen+martin&i=stripbooks&crid=ANMUYAIVWWIH&sprefix=a+life+shared+%2Cstripbooks%2C321&ref=nb_sb_ss_fb_1_14]today. It's an easy read with 5-star reviews on Amazon.