by Gayle Swift | Apr 19, 2017 | Adoptee experience, Adoption Attuned Parenting, Reunioin
We shared the recent Easter weekend with my son’s birth mother and grandmother. How apropos it seemed to be celebrating this holiday which focuses on resurrection and new life. After living a closed adoption for twenty years, twelve years ago my son and his...
by GIFT Coach | Nov 30, 2016 | Adoption Attuned Parenting, Blogs by Gayle Swift, General Discussion
Conventional wisdom says hindsight is twenty/twenty. With Thanksgiving now in our rear view mirrors, what lessons can we bring forth throughout the holiday season? Intentional Parents can choose to sustain a gratitude perspective amidst the onslaught of holiday noise...
by GIFT Coach | Sep 14, 2016 | Adoptioin Attunement, Adoption Attuned Parenting, Adoption-attunement, Blogs by Gayle Swift, General Discussion
A cow patty slathered with vanilla frosting still stinks. What!?! A cow patty stinks? Indeed, no amount of frosting can change a cow patty into dessert. What does this statement have to do with Intentional Parenting? More than you might think. Adult adoptees report...
by GIFT Coach | Jul 27, 2016 | Adoption Attuned Parenting, Values
Abraham Lincoln famously stated, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” (He paraphrased Jesus’ words in his acceptance speech for the Illinois senate.) In our contemporary world rife with contention, anger, fear and violence, never has the...
by GIFT Coach | Apr 20, 2016 | Adoption Attuned Parenting, Blogs by Gayle Swift, General Discussion
Friday marks the celebration of Earth Day which puts me in mind of nature and the cycle of life. Seeds. Roots. Growth. Pruning. Grafting. Without roots, a plant cannot survive. Without leaves, sunlight, water it cannot flourish. In many ways trees serves as an apt...
by Gayle Swift | Apr 6, 2016 | Adoption Attuned Parenting, General Discussion
All families have differences. We are after all, not clones but individuals. Adoptive families are even more likely to have areas where preferences and inclinations don’t quite synchronize. Most of the time we can appreciate the zest and spice that...