Why?

Why write this blog?  Well, I have two adult children, one married and one living at home.  The married one lives across the field, less than a two minute walk away.  I am feeling out how to do this parent, in-law, grandparent thing.  I asked one of the moms in our homeschool group who had children closer to my age than I am to hers for her wisdom and sage advice.  She had nothing.  

I searched the internet.  I got some advice on what not to do and lists of communicating, or getting them out, or fixing your relationship.  Nothing that really helped.

What next?  Amazon search...4990 results under "parenting adult children", 1630 under "parent and adult child".  Most of it was irrelevent.  The rest was titles about getting them out, dealing with the dissappointing ones, setting boundaries, getting along with them, and reclaiming your life.  My favorite - "An Adult Child's Guide to What's Normal" by John and Linda Friel.  I don't even want to go there!  I also am not dissappionted or wanting them out; we already get along; and I have spent the last 18+ years setting boundaries.  What about our everyday lives together?

So, I went to the local public library.  We live in a small town so I wasn't expecting much.  Got nothing.

Maybe everyone else was good with this new parenting task.  Nope!  As I talked with friends and family, family friends, and friends of family, I found that I wasn't the only one.  At least three people said they would buy that book if I wrote it.

Well, a book takes time, lots of time.  A blog seemed the fastest way to get the discussion started.