In March 2001 I attended a musical workshop given by singer/songwriter Betsy Rose and absolutely fell in love with her. Betsy explained how the body uses sound to improve emotional and physical health. She taught us therapeutic sounding that frees our bodies to make the sounds we want so we can get in touch with healing and creativity. As Betsy sang and played guitar, I remember feeling a sense of calm and peace wash over me like nothing I’ve ever experienced. She taught us some beautiful songs she composed and by the end of the workshop, I knew I wanted to sing with this woman again.

Betsy told us about her Womansong Circles—monthly participatory singing groups for women that she has been hosting in Berkeley, CA since 1998. Since I live in the South Bay, I asked Betsy if she would consider starting a Womansong Circle in Palo Alto. In January 2002 I hosted the first Womansong Circle South and we’ve continued to enjoy these drop-in “singing afternoons” three times a year since then.

The opportunity to sing without audition, rehearsal or performance is rare and as Betsy often says, we don’t sing enough in our culture. On two occasions, over 50 women showed up to sing for our Womansong Circle. She teaches songs of inner and outer peace, women’s journeys and power, songs about motherhood and sisterhood. We sing chants, rounds, simple harmonies, and improvisation. All voices are welcome, songbooks are provided, and no singing or music reading skills are needed. Betsy likes to say: shy and shower singers are especially welcome.

Retreat Description

For the past few years Betsy has hosted two-day Spring retreats at a Quaker Center near Santa Cruz, CA. This year she’s scheduled day-long retreats instead.

First Retreat

This retreat will be an energizing day of group singing, improvisation, harmonization, breath and sound awareness, spirit renewal through meditation, poetry, sacred song, and hot tubbing.

• Date: Saturday, April 3, 2010
• Time: 10 am to 6:30 pm
• Location: Private home in Berkeley, CA.

For details visit www.betsyrosemusic.org or call (510) 525-7082.

A year ago I attended a Positive Aging Conference hosted by the Leading Age Institute, a California non-profit corporation committed to “Growing the Positive Aging Movement.” The Institute helps local communities launch age-friendly programs based on proven elements of innovative models: Virtual Retirement “villages,” shared homes, co-housing, and social contract communities.

This year, the GaGa Sisterhood is proud to be one of the community sponsors of the Leading Age Institute’s forum series featuring nationally recognized speakers. The series is designed to highlight key issues about the “cresting age wave.”

I’m excited to meet the speaker, Dr. Laura Carstensen, for the first Forum on Thursday, February 11. Dr. Carstensen is the Professor and Founding Director of the Stanford Center on Longevity and was featured on the recent PBS special, This Emotional Life. After watching the show, I was inspired to learn more about her. To my delight, I found that she teaches at Stanford University, just a few miles away. A few days later, I received an invitation to hear Dr. Carstensen speak at this forum. Talk about synchronicity!

Contact Info:

Speakers for the 2010 Positive Aging Forum

February 11: “A Long Bright Future”
Dr. Laura L. Carstensen, PhD, Professor and Founding Director of the Stanford Center on Longevity

March 11: “Concierge-Style Services: The Beacon Hill Village Model”
Lisa Hendrickson, CEO, Avenidas Village
Susan Poor, Consultant; S.F. Village Board Member;
Project Director, Institute for Health Policy Studies, UCSF

April 8: “Cities for All Ages”
Don Weden, Retired Principal Planner, Santa Clara County Planning

May 13: To Be Announced

Details

Time: 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm

Location: Avenidas: 450 Bryant St., Palo Alto, CA 94301

Cost: $20 per Forum ~ Advance Purchase
$60 Entire Series of Four Forums

Appetizers Served; Drinks Available

The Grandparent Advantage: Staying Close and Connected with Your Children and Grandchildren

Last fall I discovered a wonderful non-profit organization in Palo Alto, California called Hand in Hand. Their primary focus is nurturing the parent-child connection. Their mission is to foster healthy parent-child relationships that will last a lifetime. Until recently, their focus has been on young parents and their children.

Beginning February 1, 2010, Hand in Hand is launching a new class for grandparents called Hand in Hand parenting: Staying Close and Connected with Your Children and Grandchildren. [Note: This class has been CANCELED]

The six-week series will help grandparents understand their grandchildren, read their behavior, predict difficult moments, and respond with essential tools that build connection in families. Patty Wipfler, the founder/director of Hand in Hand, will teach the course. She’ll examine the relationship with your adult children and grandchildren. The class will be interactive and help you connect with other caring grandparents. Grandparents, step-grandparents, and others with a “grandparent-ly” role in children’s lives are welcome to attend the series.

I got a taste of what this new class will be like after recently joining one of Hand in Hand’s free monthly teleseminars. Wipfler shared some great tools for strengthening the bonds with my grandchildren and equally important, with my children. What impressed me the most about Wipfler is her tremendous empathy for today’s young parents. She has two sons and three grandsons and has worked with thousands of families since 1989, teaching them strategies for building good communication skills.

During the teleseminar she explained how much pressure today’s parents face. They feel isolated, guilty, exhausted, and confused by all the different parenting philosophies proposed by today’s “experts.” In addition, parents want to look like they have things “under control” so it’s difficult for them to tell us grandparents how insecure they may feel. When we offer to do something as simple as wash the dishes, our gestures can be misunderstood by our adult children as a judgment that they’re not doing a good enough job, causing tension to build.

Here are some highlights from the teleseminar that will be covered in The Grandparent Advantage:

• Remember to express appreciation to the parents of your grandchildren.
• Create a “special time” with your adult children just as you do with your grandchildren.
• Listen without judgment and don’t be a problem solver.
• Find another grandparent to share your feelings.