Category: adult children

Among the Wildflowers: A mom's reflection on taking her daughter to college

The dining room is filled with brown packing boxes, Ikea bags, plastic storage bins and an unidentified number of Command Strips. There’s a life size duffle bag sitting next to the door. The dog seems a bit out of sorts knowing something is up. We are taking our first born to college today and my feelings... Read more »
By Nina Vallone,
August 17, 2017 at 11:09 am • 

Realizing My Parents Were People Grew Me Up - Real Quick

I was sitting across from my Dad at the Bagel on Belden. The year was 1995. It was a Saturday, mid-morning and I was slightly hungover and forever grateful my Dad was paying for my tuna on rye with a whopping cup of coffee. I was 24, living in Boys town and met up with... Read more »
By Nina Vallone,
January 25, 2017 at 11:04 pm • 

Lessons From My Mother

November brings with it cooler weather, leaves of gold and the feeling of thanks in the air. It’s the perfect time to begin a practice of gratitude. You Know Neen is hosting the 2nd Annual 30 Days of Gratitude blog series, a place where the experience of gratitude will be explored and shared. I, along... Read more »
By Nina Vallone,
November 29, 2016 at 7:30 pm • 
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The Power of a Valentine's Day Card

Every year I take a moment and read the Valentine’s Day card my Dad sent me when I was a freshman in college. In February, 1988, when mail wasn’t snail mail and it was the cheapest form of communication with anyone outside our campus, my sweet Dad, missing me, sent me a Valentine’s Day card.... Read more »
By Nina Vallone,
February 13, 2016 at 9:01 pm • 

Our parents are aging. Now what?

Caring for aging parents is quickly becoming the norm among many of my friends. Whenever I pick up the phone, someone’s mom needs surgery, someone’s father has suffered a stroke or someone else’s mom is moving into assisted living. As my friends and I fully enter middle age, our parents are rapidly aging and their... Read more »
By Nina Vallone,
April 6, 2015 at 1:42 pm •