On the last day of 2017, GCP wants to wish all of you a very Happy New Year! Hope the holidays have been happy, and that you and all of your amazing, delightful children have great things ahead in 2018.

As I look ahead to 2018, I see that the change that has been on the horizon has arrived. My last child has the first semester of college under his belt, and it is clear to me that the day-to-day parenting as I have known it is over. The joys and the worries are still there (yay for the joys, boo for the worries, but such is life), but one must work hard to parent differently with young adults who are busy creating and living lives on their own. (That was always the goal, wasn’t it? I have to remind myself from time to time.) Differently means with less intensity, with less judgment, with more encouragement from a safe distance. At this point, our young’uns have to learn to live with the consequences when things don’t go as they planned. We can be supportive, but barring something catastrophic, we mustn’t continually step in and save the day, even if we can and really want to. They need to use those survivor muscles we have been helping them build over the years!

2018 promises to be a year of change for GCP as well. After years of writing posts to help parents find ways to be focused and find answers to some of the thornier parenting questions, I am taking this concept of looking for answers to the next level. I am currently in the midst of researching and writing The Village Manual: Expert Advice on Raising Our Children of Color. I’ve got over a dozen questions of particular interest to parents like you and me, and I’m talking to panels of experts to get the best possible advice. This will get done in 2018 (speaking it into existence here), so Stay Tuned!!!

In the meantime, I’ll be posting on GCP as always, maybe a bit less frequently, (maybe not), and I hope you all will continue to read them (and comment, please–would love to see more comments!). 2018 will be a year of stretching, stepping out of my comfort zone, and enjoying the journey for me. In parenting, and in the rest of life. May it be the same for you all. Happy New Year!