This in from the Relationship Coaching Institute:

This is a brand new era and your attitudes, expectations and actions can redefine how aging is perceived. You have an opportunity to set the bar. While Boomers can fall into any of the fourteen dating traps described in Conscious Dating, here are some that we have found to be most common to this age group-

 Scarcity Trap- Thinking all the ‘good’ men or women have been taken,

are dead, or want younger partners

 Packaging Trap- Thinking that an aging body is unattractive and being

uncomfortable or afraid of becoming sexually intimate with a partner

because your packaging isn’t ‘perfect’

 Fairytale Trap- You desire a partner but inertia and the status quo seem

easier than being proactive in a search for a mate. You might think “if it’s

meant to be it will happen.”

Conscious Dating is a registered trademark of the Relationship Coaching Institute.

If you are single and looking for the love of your life-your soulmate-then please join us for our FREE Teleclass: Introduction To Conscious Dating.

It’s TONIGHT!   Thursday, September 1 at 8pm EST.  Here is the call in number  314-814-8004  094200#

Here we are for 50 seconds.    Sept 1st Intro to Conscious Dating

Please join us TONIGHT single people of all ages and genders!!

Conscious Dating is a registered trademark of the Relationship Coaching Institute.

Many single women 40 and over  that I speak  with have questions and challenges about dating at this time life.

I will be hosting a specal summer teleclass called “Conscious Dating For Women 40 and over. For details please click on this link. www.MadlyInLoveForeverForSingles.com/readiness-seminar-women

 Choosing to do this class could be the beginning of something new and exciting for you.

Conscious Dating is a registered trademark of the Relationship Coaching Institute.

Ready to finally find the love of your life? Ready to SAVE over $100. Diane and Lewis of Madly In Love Forever announce the ”newest online program for singles from the Relationship Coaching Institute — Conscious Dating Virtual Coaching Program.” Proven and tested over 15 years with thousands of singles. Stop struggling with loneliness and bad dates.
Click and see how Diane and Lewis of Madly In Love Forever can help you:  http://www.madlyinloveforeverforsingles.com/introducing-the-conscious-dating-virtual-coaching-program/

Read what the experts have to say about the Conscious Dating Program. Diane and Lewis are members of the Relationship Coaching Institute and teach the Conscious Dating Programs. 

“In Conscious Dating, David Steele provides a new concept for dating and insightful advice, effective exercises and useful illustrations that will help anyone who uses them make their journey to love successful. We recommend this program to anyone looking for love.” – Harville Hendrix, Ph. D. and Helen LaKelly Hunt, Ph. D., co-authors ofReceiving Love: Transform Your Relationship by Letting Yourself Be Loved

“Unconscious dating can lead to disaster. Given the serious effect of relationships gone awry, Conscious Dating is a must for singles who want to make better relationship choices. David Steele provides sound guidance and practical advice for today’s singles.” – Pat Love, Ed.D. Author, The Truth About Love and Hot Monogamy

“David Steele has made a significant contribution to the world of relationships by mapping two previously foreign countries- consciousness and dating, bringing them together at last in this customized system. Packed with practical strategies that really work, Conscious Dating is THE program for helping singles navigate the dating world.” –Gay and Kathlyn Hendricks, authors of Conscious Loving

“This program is filled with practical strategies that work. Packed with solid advice, assessments and exercises, Conscious Dating will completely change the way singles view dating and relating. A must for anyone who wants to create his or her next great relationship.” –Eve Eschner Hogan, Author of Intellectual Foreplay and How to Love Your Marriage 

“Seeking to find the partner of your dreams can be a bruising process. Conscious Dating teaches you ALL you need to know to find a partner with whom to live a full life, starting NOW! This is THE program for every single who wants to find the love of your life.” –Bonnie Bernell, Ed.D, Author of Bountiful Women: Large Women’s Secrets for Living the Life They Desire.

Lewis and I are on our way home from  Baltimore and the Washington DC areas after attending a joyous wedding of our good friends’ daughter.

The day before the wedding we visited three places that were on our “bucket list” -the Vietnam Memorial, the World War II Memorial and the Holocaust Museum.

Phew, there are no words, only sadness and the thought how horrible people can be to each other at times.  As I walked away from these three sites I felt a deep stirring and remembering in my soul. The only thing I can do is to love and be kind to each and every person I meet. 

 As we searched for our car on Pennsylvania Avenue,  I held Lewis’ hand and  thought, “ I get to practice being loving and kind right here and right now with Lewis.”

your life’s mate carefully; from this one decision will come 90 percent of your happiness or misery.”  -H. Jackson Brown Jr., Life’s Little Instruction Book

Romance is in the air!  Found this heartwarming love story written by Sean Durity in yesterday’s Yahoo News.

“Wilbert Glenn Adriance, my grandpa, died on May 26, 2010, at the age of 91. Battling her own failing health, my Grandma Bonnie, his wife of almost 69 years, struggled afterward with the grief of their separation. She wondered why she was still here on earth, and over the course of the last year, her mind and body were painfully giving out. Some days she didn’t recognize her daughter (my mom) or anyone else.

But then something very strange happened. It was March 7, this year, and it would have been Grandpa’s 92nd birthday. My mom received a call from Essex, Md., near Baltimore. She and her family had lived there when she was a young girl. But the caller wasn’t any friend or family she recognized. Not many remained there anyway. The call was from Bill, a postal worker. He had a package for Grandma, and it was from Grandpa!

Bill explained that the slightly damaged and opened package was addressed to “Mrs. Wilbert Adriance” and had been sent from Farragut, Idaho, to Baltimore. It contained a picture. And it just showed up in the dead mail that day — Grandpa’s birthday. The package showed significant age, as it included Baltimore’s pre-ZIP code zone of 21.

Because the ZIP code system began in 1963, we knew the package was at least 48 years overdue. But Mom knew it was even older. Grandpa had only been in Farragut, Idaho, one time in his life. It was during his Navy basic training in 1944! (Idaho may not seem like a natural place for naval training, but 300,000 recruits trained at Farragut Naval Training Station during its four years of war-time service.) The package was 67 years late!

Because the postal worker’s father had lived in Essex, he said he was motivated to go beyond his postal-worker duty and try to deliver the long-lost package. He had found Grandpa’s obituary online and eventually was able to reach my mom to arrange express delivery to her address. Mom found it quite ironic that its plastic bag explained that damage “will occur because of the great volume handled and the rapid processing methods which must be employed to assure the most expeditious distribution possible.” At 67 years old, the package was actually in great shape.

The small cardboard tube contained only the black-and-white photograph of Grandpa’s training class, Company 5013-44 – Regiment 2 – Battalion 5. It was dated Sept. 19, 1944. There was no letter, but I am sure that he sent the picture to say, “We are far apart for now, but I’m OK. I am where I am supposed to be. We will be together soon.”

Nearly 70 years later, Grandma was able to see the picture and flashed one of her last smiles. She recognized her 25-year-old husband’s picture. She said, “Keep it in a safe place.” After 67 years, Grandpa’s message was faithfully delivered, exactly at the right time: “We are far apart for now, but I’m OK. I am where I am supposed to be. We will be together soon.”

My grandma, Vivian Yvonne (Bonnie) Adriance, died one month later on April 10.”

I am sitting here in our living room and in walks my 25 year old daughter. “What should I blog about?” I ask her. She finishes drinking her water and here is what she says.

“Talk about the importance of appreciation. I know so many girls that would rather find a napkin with a love note or a flower rather than receive a text message.  I know one thing-I and many of my friends love when someone wants to spend quality time with us. It’s so valuable-way more valuable than money could ever be.”

This made me think that maybe the new generation is missing some of what we in the older generation grew up with. So leave a note, a flower, take time for a walk…something other than a text.  I’m so glad I asked my daughter what to blog about!

I, a Catholic, will be celebrating my sixth Passover with my husband Lewis.  Lewis’ tradition for celebrating Passover is kind of like the Christmas season condensed into one week. The entire kitchen– pots, pans and dishes– changes; the refrigerator gets emptied out completely to make way for the special Passover foods; there’s tons of baking and cooking.  Lewis happily prepares for the Passover seder and the eight days of Passover at our home are joyful, loving and heartwarming.

When we were dating Lewis invited me to a Passover seder and told me all that he did to prepare for it. He shared his love for this holy tradition and said that he would do it this way forever and it was important that his partner agree to do this with him.

When it came time for the “I do” we both made a vow to honor each other’s religious traditions and join in as much as possible.

So I have a secret to share. Our schedules this year are busier than ever. There is a part of me that wanted to suggest that we simply join in with the synagogue festivities and not do the Passover seder at our home.

Why didn’t I make this suggestion? Because when I said yes to marrying Lewis, I made a vow. I knew what Passover would look like.   

So I made the shift in my mindset.  I asked myself, “What did I need so I could be as happy as usual about honoring my vow to Lewis?”  I needed help with the spring cleanup that is part of the holiday preparations.  I enlisted the help of my daughter and nephew for those chores.  Now I am excited above the Passover holiday and can be fully supportive for Lewis. While sitting at the Passover seder this year, joyously celebrating with family and friends, I will feel a deep sense of contentment, knowing that I honored my vow.

	There are more single people today than ever in history- 101 million in the U.S., 46% of the adult population (37.5 million/28% in 1970)
	Over 25% of households are single occupant households (17% in 1970)
	53% of households are married couples (70% in 1970)
	The marriage rate is decreasing, and is at its lowest in 30 years
	The divorce rate has remained stable since 1988
	While the exact divorce rate is a matter of debate, experts agree that somewhere between 40 and 60% of all marriages will end in divorce, and that for every marriage there is about one divorce
	Co-habitation is increasing, with a higher failure rate than marriage
	Single, separated, divorced or widowed people have higher rates of mental health disorders, depression, and suicide
	The percentage of young adults who say that having a good marriage is extremely important to them is increasing (94% in one study)
	The majority of first-born children are now conceived by, or born to, unmarried parents
	Half of all children will spend some time in a single parent family
	43% of first marriages end within 15 years
	39% of remarriages end within 10 years
	More than 85% of all adults marry at least once

A summary of a 1999 study by David Popenoe and Barbara Dafoe Whitehead of the National Marriage Project of Rutgers University on “The State Of Our Unions: The Social Health Of Marriage in America” states:

“Key social indicators suggest a substantial weakening of the institution of marriage. Americans have become less likely to marry. When they do marry their marriages are less happy. And married couples face a high likelihood of divorce. Over the past four decades, marriage has declined as the first living together experience for couples and as a status of parenthood. Unmarried cohabitation and unwed births have grown enormously, and so has the percentage of children who grow up in fragile families.”

Sources:
U.S. Census Bureau http://www.census.gov/
SmartMarriages www.smartmarriages.com
National Marriage Project http://marriage.rutgers.edu/state.html
American Association For Single People http://www.unmarriedamerica.com/