Tag: youth

Admit it! No matter how much you love your kids, it’s not healthy to concentrate on them every moment of every day. I can already hear the groans of some of you. “Why have kids if you don’t devote your life to them?” And, I agree – one hundred percent. I also think that some time devoted to your own interests makes for a much more interesting and able parent.

The majority of parents are lucky. Most of us never know what it’s like to live with a mentally ill child. Even among those who have family members who suffer from mental illness, most of those cases are not severe.

I will admit it. I’m an overachiever. I grew up in a home where excellence was expected and I worked hard to meet those expectations. These days, I’m in charge of my own schedule, but old habits die hard. I work hard at my job and often balance different types of jobs. Even when I’m home, I’m doing something. I always have a project of some sort brewing.

I realize this is supposed to be a column about parenting. And, I realize that I’m generally supposed to write about parenting children. Normally, that’s my topic. Today is different, however. Today, I’m going to talk about parenting our parents.

I was an overscheduled child. By the time I hit high school, I was on the cheerleading squad, swim team, in the marching band, pep band, pit band, jazz band, drama club, concert choir, women’s chorus, auditioned choir, youth in government, all kinds of school committees, and half a dozen other activities. I was a busy kid, to say the least.

Many of you know the story of our youngest Cassandra. She was born addicted to eight different substances and spent weeks in the neonatal ICU for detox. That was followed by months of medication to alleviate the symptoms. She is currently over a year completely drug-free.