With Your Family in Mind

Are you nostalgic about a time when you felt you had more control over your life?  I have a theory about why this may be so.
Unless I relinquish my power to others, I theoretically have total control over myself.  It’s all the control I have ever had.  I choose my thoughts, behavior, values, beliefs, priorities, and feelings.  I decide who to spend time with, what gets my attention, and where to go.  If I drew my circle of control, it would resemble a bull’s eye on a dartboard.  Small — precisely the same size as Obama’s, Schwarzenegger’s, and yours.  You see, circles of control come in only one size.

What is foster care?  Foster care is the opportunity to provide a temporary home to children who are under the custody of the county and cannot live with their birth parents.  These children are in the care of the county because they have been abused, neglected or abandoned.  Every child wants and deserves a permanent home and family.  The goal of foster care is to reunify children with their birth families whenever possible but sometimes that cannot happen.  When children cannot go home, an adoptive family is sought.  Many foster families adopt the children for whom they have been caring.

On any given day, most of us have unlimited opportunities to choose what we wish to do during our leisure time.  Here in the Santa Clarita Valley, we have easy access to the mountains, beach, parks, amusement parks, malls, libraries, college classes, restaurants, sports centers, movies, etc.  We can hop in our cars to visit our friends and family members.  However, teenagers and adults who are disabled are often confronted with a daunting array of challenges in their efforts to lead enriched, happy, and fulfilled lives. 

It has been a long time coming!  Our extensive remodeling of our community is just about complete.  Over the past 10 months, the community has undergone a great deal of construction.  The project included: a new driveway, complete refurbishing of the lobby, renovation of our library, sitting room, dining room, activities room, hallways, a number of remodeled rooms, and our Memory Care neighborhood.  We are extremely pleased at how our community has turned out, and more excited for our current and future residents. 

Opiates have become epidemic everywhere and our suburb is no exception.  It’s important to know what opiates are, how they work and what to do if you suspect a family member of using them or if you yourself need help.  All opiates are highly and severely addicting, both physically and psychologically. 

If you are a parent, I am sure you would agree that being a parent can be one of the most challenging jobs you will ever have in this lifetime. Whether you have a child in diapers, one who is going through the terrible two’s, one who will not talk because he has an iPod stuck in his ear, or one that you’re running from one event to the next — parenting is hard work!

“I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself than be crowded on a velvet cushion.”—Henry David Thoreau

Isn’t divorce a bit like Halloween?  Each party puts on a mask — to frighten or hide.  Sometimes the mask changes from intimidating to the intimidated.  One might ask for treats to fill the bag with riches or let loose with tricks to punish, stymie or confound the other. 

I recently learned of the potential closure of the adult day care program that is offered at the Santa Clarita Senior Center.  The article stated that due to the current financial situation in California, programs that are related to seniors will most surely be cut.  As Executive Director at Summerhill Villa, an independent and assisting living community in the Santa Clarita Valley, seniors have a special place in my heart, the staff at Summerhill and everyone was saddened to hear that the senior center services were going to be affected in such a negative way.  What could be done?  How could they help?

Let’s see, you’ve got the wedding chapel and the caterer booked, the dress selected, the cake designed, the wedding invitations mailed, vows written, finances talked about — oops, forgot the last item?

All children need stable, caring families with nurturing parents who can provide a safe home and good role models.
Foster and adoptive children need parents who can:

Before we talk about the types of awards, it is important to understand the legal framework behind them. The child’s best interest is the paramount consideration for any custody award. In order to fashion custody awards consistent with a child’s best interest, courts must consider, and effectuate, two critical public policies. The court’s “primary concern” is to assure the child’s health, safety and welfare.

Adoptive parents provide permanent homes for children who can no longer live with their birth families.  For many children, adoption can be their only chance of experiencing a loving, caring family life.  Often foster parents choose to adopt their foster child when it is not possible for the child to return home safely.

Anyone who has been unfortunate enough to have to deal with a family member or loved one who is an addict can tell you how unbelievably hopeless and frustrating it can be.  Even when you think they’ve quit they can relapse and slip back deeply into their addiction making it seem as though everything you did (or thought you did) was useless. 

The High Holy Days are once again on the horizon. This year, Temple Beth Ami is proud to announce that our services will, once again, be held at the beautiful Hyatt Valencia. Along with ample seating, TBA also provides full-day children’s programming so parents are free to participate in services.

Although the assisted living industry has been around for over 20 years, there are still a number of consumers who are unfamiliar with the concept.  Not only are the consumers confused on the various senior living options, but a number of professionals are as well.  Rarely have I come across a potential resident or family member who did not need clarification of the services offered.  A while back, I had the opportunity to speak to this point on KHTS AM 1220 radio’s “The Senior Hour.”  However, I feel this information is important enough that it is worth repeating.

Do you find yourself sweeping your problems under the rug?  Do you try to forget about them or hope they’ll just resolve themselves if you wait long enough?  You are not alone.  However, these tactics don’t work to your advantage.  In fact, small problems end up creating or causing even bigger problems that are more difficult to solve.  Why not tackle these problems head on before they grow?

“I’m an excellent housekeeper. Every time I get a divorce, I keep the house.”
–  Zsa Zsa Gabor

Today’s economic climate has impacted rocky marriages in unusual ways. 

Generally in divorce or paternity cases (cases where there is a child/children but no marriage), the parties battle over custody and/or visitation.  Oftentimes, it is very difficult for the bench officers to make custody/visitation orders based on the “he said/she said” paperwork filed by the parties.  Under Family Code, Section 3042, if the child is of sufficient age and capacity to reason so as to form an intelligent preference as to custody, the court shall consider and give due weight to the wishes of the child in making an order granting or modifying custody.