Today I'm talking to Brooke. Brooke's story kept unfolding with surprising wonders.

She's just finished training for a super cool top secret government job where she finds bad guys.

Well, it was top secret until her super proud seven year old daughter told the cashier at Target the news,

which led us to talk about the winds and wise of entrusting children with privileged information.

Brooke is divorced and her ex has a terrific new girlfriend who has terrific kids the same age as Brooke's kids.

This set of circumstances led us to have a heart to heart with Brooke's touchy inner child

and solve the riddle of why kids give a beloved parent the cold shoulder.

Other topics we skated to accepting the bitter sweet without trying to change it,

appreciating a partner with an inborn reflex for goofiness and how singing to or with your child can be more valuable than an earnest conversation.

I also got to picture four generations of female ice skaters ready to show their moves.

In the wrap up, I'll share a perspective for dealing with blended families that sociobiologists learned from elephant mothers.

I'll explain how music embeds experience in memory and you'll learn an untranslatable and swoon worthy word in Arabic.

First disclaimer, what you are about to listen to is not a professional counseling session.

Each episode is a one time conversation and the advice I offer does not constitute psychological treatment or services substitute for professional diagnosis intervention or behavioral health care.

In order to protect their privacy, our guests have been given pseudonyms and some personal details have been changed.

If you have concerns about your child's well-being or your own, seek out guidance from a medical or mental health professional,

good places to start, your child's pediatrician, the counseling staff at your child's school,

and the American Psychological Association's Comprehensive Guide to Finding Resources in your state.

And now, onto the fun.

Hey, Brooke.

Hi, nice to meet you.

Thank you. Nice to meet you too in this unusual time we're all in.

...