Common Ground

07/10/2026

When I was 39, I became a widow.

Nobody tells you how many decisions land on you in those first weeks. Documents you don't have. Plans nobody made. Conversations that can't happen anymore because one person isn't there to have them. I wasn't prepared, and I learned the hard way what it costs a family when those plans aren't in place.

That moment is why I started Common Ground.

For more than 20 years I've worked with families navigating the hardest transitions life brings — a parent aging out of independence, a relationship that's fracturing, an estate that needs to be organized when everyone is already grieving. I come to you, wherever you are across the Front Range, and I stay until there's a workable path forward.

Family mediation. Elder care planning. Life transition support. Mobile notary services.

All of it bilingual. All of it in your home, at your table, on your terms.

If your family is in the middle of something hard right now, this is what Common Ground is here for. Reach out — or book directly at famcrisis.com.

02/10/2026

https://www.famcrisis.com/post/introducing-our-exciting-new-partnership-with-remento-to-preserve-family-stories Check out my new blog on the website about our partnership with Remento!

29/09/2026

I'm excited to be looking into a partnership with Remento. As part of the services we offer through common ground. It's a wonderful process of talking through your life's memories and documenting important recipes and photos and family history that ends up in a book that you get to keep forever. Better yet, your loved one's voice is captured and available to listen to via QR code as a part of the book. I look forward to getting started with my first project soon. Check them out!!

Preserve family stories and memories with Remento's life story book. Capture family history with no writing required. As seen on Shark Tank!

26/09/2026

Some of you may have been wondering what are we doing with this site? Well instead of just offering parenting classes we are adding, mediation, life transition support and elder care support. Check out our new website famcrisis.com for more info. It's a new project that I have been working on while I am in between jobs. If you know anyone who needs a guide or someone to spend time helping them downsize and figure out a plan with aging relatives. Common Ground LLC can help.

24/09/2026

I'm thinking a new photo is needed. Hello 2026!

21/09/2019

Good one for the older kids with lots of FEELINGS

I wrote about this a few years ago, but having experienced it again last night, I thought it might be worth repeating.

Brandon and I went to Remy's volleyball game yesterday, and I took one look at her face on the court and said: "Oh dear." You know when your kid is off, off, off. Short story: bad day, bad encounter, bad feelings. The Bad Feels followed us right into the car, all the way home, all the way in, all the way through. This is when you do NOT respond to non sequitur accusations like "Why don't you guys even trust me??" and other alternative landing spots for teen frustration.

I remember how all this felt.

So there is really one thing to do: Awesome Bath. I said, "How about I run you a beautiful bubble bath? We'll put in your bath salts and light a candle and play some music, and you can lock our bathroom door and stay in there as long as you want." She did NOT want that of course, but I suggested she try it, just in case something weird happened and it worked.

Which it did.

Which it always does.

Forty-five minutes later, a new girl emerged.

Mamas, sometimes a whole day at school is a crap sandwich for our kids. We don't even know all they heard, all they bore, all they felt. It's hard to be a kid. Sometimes they get in the car and proceed to pick a fight with you over...I want to say...nothing? Because their feelings need somewhere to go.

Maybe rather than taking the bait, you just nod and agree that life sure is hard, then suggest an Awesome Bath. Make it incredible. All the things: bubbles, salts, oils, music, candles, books, a little snack, a pretty drink in a pretty cup, your softest fluffiest towel maybe even warmed up in the dryer, the yummy lotion on hands and feet after. Let them soak away their worry and stress and embarrassment and exhaustion. It's real, the feelings. It's also real, the Awesome Bath. It has magical powers.

Author's note: Awesome Bath is reported to also work on grown ups.

09/09/2019

Love this and I agree whole heartedly!
What were your favorite ways people loved and took care of you as a new mom? A dear friend of mine made snack go packs with yummy treats to eat on the run. I loved it!

The postpartum mother is recovering and trying to settle in with a new baby. Admire the infant, but please nurture and see the new mom too.

18/07/2019

What about age 1-100...thats me barefoot most of the time!

Children and adolescents who spend most of their time develop motor skills differently from those who habitually wear shoes. A study has revealed that children who are often barefoot show significantly different motor skills between the ages of 6-10 than those who are most often shod. Researchers report that kids who are habitually barefoot have better balance and jumping skills.

“Walking barefoot is widely thought to be more natural, and the use of footwear has long been discussed as an influencing factor on foot health and movement pattern development,” explains Professor Astrid Zech who led the study.

She also advised that, “Physical education classes, exercise and sport programs, and recreational activities that aim to improve basic motor skills could benefit from including barefoot activities. Parents could also encourage regular barefoot time at home.”

It’s more commonly known today that toddlers should be learning to walk barefooted as much as possible so they can feel what they touch with their feet and develop muscle strength. However all children receive important sensory information from the soles of their feet touching the ground as they develop— and it may now be best advice for all children to be encouraged to ditch the shoes when they can, no matter what their age.

https://neurosciencenews.com/motor-skill-footwear-9552/

21/06/2019

What do you all think of this one? I think its great and I worry about the way we are starting to limit authority for our kids. Its not realistic. Life will have bosses, and police, and lifeguards who are trying to...guard our lives.

There was a kid running at the neighborhood pool the other day. The pool attendant asked him to walk — as pool attendants have done since…

23/05/2018

good reminder!

The more time children spend in structured, parent-guided activities, the worse their ability to work productively towards self-directed goals.