by Gayle Swift | Mar 13, 2019 | Blogs by Gayle Swift, General Discussion
Last week’s conversation about family traditions got me thinking about how traditions help create a thread of continuity through the generations. Adoptive families want to be intentional in finding ways to establish and nurture a sense of connection within our...
by Gayle Swift | Feb 6, 2019 | Adoption-attunement, Blogs by Gayle Swift, Difficult Discussions, Empathy
Unless adoptive parents are also adoptees, we can only approximate in our minds and hearts what it must be like for our children. Adoption was the answer to our prayer; but for our children, it is far more complicated. The benefits they gained via adoption coexist...
by Gayle Swift | Jan 23, 2019 | Adoptive Parenting Skills/Tool, General Discussion
I took a class this weekend to learn about native plants for the garden in my new house. The basic rule the instructor stated was to choose the right plant for the given location. Consider the weeping willow and the cactus. While each plant is lovely, they could not...
by Gayle Swift | Aug 29, 2018 | Adoption-attunement, Adoptive Parenting Skills/Tool, Blogs by Gayle Swift, General Discussion
Last weekend I went camping with my son and his family. Something magical happens when we gather around a campfire, toast marshmallows, snack on S’mores and notice the star-studded sky arching overhead. Good times! It’s a total break from the routine of...
by Gayle Swift | Jul 25, 2018 | Blogs by Gayle Swift, General Discussion
We’re all familiar with the old saying, “Everybody is a critic.” Feedback occurs regularly in life. People hand it out all the time. Often with negative results. Why? Because it is a skill that we rarely teach. As a result, feedback often results in...
