PenPenWrites

parenting blog, memoir notes, family punchlines & more

© Penelope Lemov and Parenting Grown Children, 2025. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given.

© Penelope Lemov and Parenting Grown Children, 2025. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given.

Category: Uncategorized

  • There are reasons — let me not count the ways — why our adult children may stop talking to us, avoid all contact (even blocking us on their cell phones), or enter what’s called “low contact” mode. They may decide to stay away from family get-togethers–or we might not want them to join us. Whatever…

  • Let’s call this a variation of the King Lear dilemma. How do we divide our estate so that all our children are treated fairly, particularly if there are reasons not to split everything evenly. If we have two sons and one is killing it as a venture capitalist and the other is doing good work…

  • Too fat? Too thin? Some of us are unhappy with the state of our adult child’s body. We remember when they were oh-so-fit soccer players, runners and dancers. But now, are they eating too much? Overindulging in junk food? Are they sitting around playing video games instead of jogging. It’s so tempting to remind them…

  • If you have a 20-something hanging around your life, chances are 50-50 you’re getting your cultural and political news from different sources. If the young person is a grandchild, the odds go to 99-1. I’m making up the numbers but the point is that our older generation gets information about the world from very different…

  • When our kids are planning to visit us–be it to drop by for an hour or to come home for a weekend–we’re usually alive with anticipation. Ah, the the joy and positive energy a visit brings. The question is, are they feeling as positive as we are?Yes, they are! That is, they share in the…

  • Our closets are full. So is the attic, basement and every cranny that can hold papers, memorabilia and photo albums. To say nothing of unused dishes, scarred pots and chipped figurines. Getting rid of some or all of that stuff is formidable. It looms like a climb up a mountain of slag. And yet, do we…

  • Welcome to Parenting Grown Children’s new home

    We’re now grownchildren.org. We had to move from our old home (our host closed its doors, or rather its digital presence) and our domain name (grownchildren.net) became problematical. (I’m working on it!) Meanwhile, the new home at WordPress and slight variation on domain name promise to be a plus. First bonus: There’s a subscribe button…

  • Sending off our young adults to fend for themselves, to live independently of us–it's what all those years of toddler-through-teens parenting were about. And yet, it's hard to let go. We want to hold their hands, keep the safety net in place, be there for them should they falter. We're only human. We're parents. We're…

  • Some of us count ourselves lucky. Our children find their future Mr or Ms Right next door. Or within the same time zone. Or in the same country. Or from a similar culture.  But what happens when none of that describes our child's important love interest. Instead, it's someone with a very different background and…

  • Sometimes we're upset at our grandkids over the unwritten thank you note. or the failure to acknowledge a birthday or a special visit. Or forgetting to answer a text or phone call–or initiate one. When our grandkids (or adult kids) seem oblivious to our existence, we feel like we aren't part of their family and…