As a mom, I often find it tricky to disconnect from the complications and life struggles of my children, my aging parents, and other relatives. I feel their pain. I relate to their problems, I understand their dilemmas and I sense their distress. It's exhausting. I commiserate so much in fact, that I sometimes project and even inject myself into their movie. Not good.

Among the lessons parents need to learn, is that kids are individuals, and therefore, they need to individuate. Duh. Even though our kids will always be our kids, when they are married with kids of their own, our interventions into their lives should be minimal - more as honored guests, and adoring admirers, than the fixers and doers of our earlier parenting years. Why? Because we can't fix and do everything for them anymore. And if we try, we are actually robbing them of their own personal power - of their own ability to "win" at life, which we should be loathe to do.

We parents may not always agree with our children's ways, and we may have all kinds of reasons why we think our methods are better. But different perspectives and alternate ways of doing things make the world go round. Though we may be similar because we're related, we all absorb different tricks and tools for navigating life.

Being able to accept sometimes, adapt most of the time, and let go at the right time are valuable behaviors for parents and our kids to learn.

Do you think of yourself as a feminist?  Is something stopping you from embracing your feminine side?  Can you support the cause of women without feeling like a pariah?  We are all being judged.  Obviously our worth exists outside of any political or sociological framework, but it's important to notice how these perspectives affect us, because it can trip us up.  The Feminist Movement, which found its first significant expression in Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, produced many stand-out ladies whom we can thank posthumously for opening the doors and windows to our empowerment and ultimately, to our freedom.  These powerful women definately had their work cut out for them.  Elizabeth Cady Standton spent a lifetime fighting for equal rights in America -- not only for women, but for all humanity.  She and her friend Lucretia Mott organized the first American women's rights meeting in 1848, since dubbed the Seneca Falls Convention.  What can we learn from them?  That it takes a strong sense of personal worth and determination to speak truth to power.  These gutsy women laid the groundwork for the phrase, "you go girl."   "The glory of human nature lies in our seeming capacity to exercise conscious control of our destiny."  -- Winston Churchill (British Prime Minister, 1874-1965)

Taking my youngest daughter to visit the colleges she was accepted to so she could make her final choice has been a bitter-sweet journey. I am enjoying seeing the world through her excited, energetic eyes, but I am also aware that her childhood has come to an end. I can't help but reminisce about my own transition to young adulthood, but I try not to impose too many of my memories or my expectations on my daughter, as this is her time to shine. This is the beginning of another chapter in my life, just as it is for my daughter. To see the joy and possibility that exists through every door, is to be forever young.

I recently read Three Cups of Tea.  I didn't really know what to expect - but I couldn't put the book down.  I love the mountains - something about the air, the beauty, the majesty, it grabs me in a way nothing else can.  This story, while set at altitudes few people can handle, is not just about a climb on Pakistan's magnificent K2.  It is about a man who single-handedly took it upon himself to make the dream of schools for girls in these remote villages that surround the highest peaks on earth a reality.  It's a fact that if women are educated, they will make drastic changes in the world around them.  Just ask Dr. Yunus of the Grameen bank in Bangladesh.  Greg Mortenson -- a gentle giant, deserves the Nobel Peace Prize as well.   His monumental efforts to bring schools to the villages of Pakistan - those remote villages at the top of the world that lie in the shadow of the Karakoram Range, are awe-inspiring.  Greg Mortenson co-founded the non-profit organization The Central Asia Institute to fund the building of schools, bridges, water projects and women's centers in these remote areas.  He also founded Pennies for Peace;  an organization that educates American children about the world beyond their experience.  Read the book.  You will be amazed.  Then donate to his cause.  You won't regret it.