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I was thinking about sadness and asking myself if it was OK to feel sad? I am going to start by saying that sadness is a natural feeling like happiness or anger that every human experiences. And even though it is not "nice" to feel sad, it is important to feel emotions and sadness is part of those emotions, otherwise, if you are unemotional, there is for sure something wrong! Some people describe sadness as a strong pain in your heart, as if you were stabled with a knife. It is a strong feeling. It makes people wonder about their current life, the past, or the future. ​ Sadness, happiness or any other emotion come with external expressions. It can come with tears. It can come with silence or with a desperate need of being alone in a separate space. Some people need to talk or to keep their mind and body busy, trying to escape from the emotion. People also tend to overreact to normal situations while feeling sad. ​ Reasons to be sad? There are many. The death of a loved one, the loss of a job, the end of a relationship, divorce, and many other situations can trigger sadness, but it should never take control of your other emotions. You cannot surrender to sadness because it leads to depression. Once you get there, there is a problem. ​ As the opposite of happiness and like it, sadness brings the opportunity to grow and gives the occasion to learn, but we need to be aware and take advantage of the opportunity. Do not let the opportunity to take advantage of you! Some sad situations are mixed with happy ones. Like the marriage of a son or daughter. It may bring mixed feelings of happiness with sadness. He/she will leave the nest and no longer will be living with you or near you or because you feel unsure about the future that is ahead of them but at the same time, you share the happiness surrounding them. ​ So, is it ok to feel sad? Yes, it is ok to feel sad, but we have to be cautious sadness can easily open the depression door, one that nobody wants to open. Some depressed people get to a "no return point". If that is your case, or if you think you are depressed, please ask for professional help. Depression Symptoms. ​ What can we do to overcome sadness? It is a period. You need to grief. Crying is an excellent way to relieve sadness. Exercise. 30 minutes daily walks are great for breathing fresh air, admire nature, feel your surroundings, and appreciate life. Yoga sessions. I personally recommend Yoga with Kassandra. Mindfulness. The App "Calm" has good free tools. Get creative, do some kind of crafts. Listen to high-level music (happy music). Do the things you like to do. It might not be easy at first, but push yourself to get there. If sadness persists, please ask for professional help.

Grandparents are undoubtedly important to the family. Grandparents are a moral reference to their grandchildren, a cornerstone of families, and an indisputable link of family unity. In many cases, they are even economic support for risen-up families. Grandparents are transmitters of values ​​and knowledge. This wonderful bond helps grandchildren to grow and to mature, and if grandparents spend time with their grandkids, they rejuvenate and acquire vitality. Parents, on the other hand, learn to value their own parents without criticism and appreciate their experience. It is a tripartite relationship, grandparents - grandchildren - parents, which is strengthened with love, patience, and tolerance. Grandparents in their very important role should... Be collaborators: Your opinion is important as an aid to parents in the education of grandchildren. Accept the changes: do not compare generational gaps. Accept changes that time traces in education and breeding. Do not compare: In my years it was better! Seek for virtues and reinforce them: Respect the norms established by parents instead of criticizing what they do wrong or looking for mistakes. Faced with a different attitude, grandchildren will take advantage of their grandparents. Set limits: grandchildren should learn that grandparents deserve respect, consideration, and affection. Grandparents must set rules which usually go hand in hand with parenting guidelines. Parents in their delicate responsibility should... Be confident: parents should trust their parents while being grandparents. Do not give too many instructions, just provide data that may be unknown to them. Be considered: it is not the obligation of grandparents to educate their grandchildren. Nor is it required to care for them. Therefore, it is necessary for parents, - in every circumstance, - to ask and never impose. Caring for grandchildren should always be a proposal of parents, never a requirement. Value without criticism: grandparents will always give and do the best they can. Recognizing their effort will always be welcome. Appreciate their experience: grandparents foster positive habits such as reading, listening to music, or doing sports. They are a moral reference and an example for their grandchildren. Grandparents are a moral reference to their grandchildren The education of the grandchildren is a responsibility that falls first and foremost on the parents. However, the presence of the grandparents in the ages in which the virtues, character, and personality are built, is fundamental. My 16 years old son always remembers this: "the manners at the table were taught to me by my grandmother". Grandparents have to reinforce the positive characteristics of their grandchildren, without censoring. Always encouraging, but not very demanding, providing the appropriate means and at the indicated time. In that way, confidence and self-esteem will be fostered in them. Teaching them that they should always aim for the best. Treating grandchildren with respect, naturalness, and joy will help a lot in their personal development. Ask them for forgiveness if necessary and give thanks when they do something for their grandparents, parents, or other adults. In conclusion, grandparents are a moral reference for their grandchildren and their family. In order to keep that, it is fundamental to teach with example, keep promises, and be loving and caring. The best teacher is not made out of words, but out of facts.

Real happiness is an emotional state. You achieve it when your heart and mind are not in material things, but in the moments you can share with others; in new things, you can learn; in the good conversations you have with friends and colleagues, or in the meals, you prepare for your family. Happiness does not come out of magic dust or is only found in children's books. Finding happiness in life and achieving it within your family is a reality but of course, we have to keep in mind that in a happy family, not everything is always rose-colored. There are hard moments and difficult times when through love and example, every member of the family will do what is necessary to overcome the obstacles and live or continue living in happiness. Setting the example and doing everything out of love is a “must” for parents because they will always be their children’s center of attention. Kids are watching, listening, and even mocking their parents and every other adult who shares a certain amount of time with them during their daily routines. Therefore, parents teach by example. If we want our children to do chores at home, we must begin to do the chores. We should start and be the first. To me is very obvious that every family member should help at home. Parents should explain “how they should do it” and “when” they expect their children to do the work. During the first five years of life, parents, and educators have the unique opportunity to teach virtues, manners, character, or routines to their children. After that age, the learning process changes. So, the best way to make clear what we expect from our children is through example. When trying to keep harmony and happiness, the mental health of the family is very important. Fighting in front of the children, strong discussions, or conversations about the relationship between husband and wife should never be addressed in front of children. Neither should conversations about difficult decisions nor complicated situations that may lead to an argument. Wise spouses, go to another room, and once they are calm, talk and resolve things. They will never go to sleep mad at each other. Before going to bed, they make their peace with each other; they reconcile because families fix everything at home. It is also very important not to discipline the kids in front of strangers or their peers. It should be done separately, in the car or at home. Be aware of the words we are using and the tone. If we are upset, we should calm down, relax and then discuss it. That would be the best decision. Thus, we give room to explain and time for them (kids) to think about their answers. Nor should we run them over with question after question. Oh! And let's not compare brothers with brothers. They are all different. Children may be twins, but they are different individuals. The oldest and best-selling book of all time, the Bible, in the book of St. Matthew, chapter 12 says, “The mouth speaks of the abundance of the heart.” You cannot give what you do not have. When you feel happy, give others happiness. Otherwise, when you are sad, worried, and disgusted, that is exactly what you will deliver to others. The family gives what every member has. Work is important because it is the source of income for the family, but it can never be the first or most important thing for spouses. The time they spend with their children must be of quality. Without a doubt, before any other group or activity, family comes first. Last, but not least, happy families love each other and do everything out of love. All the above happens because there is love amongst each family member. You can never believe what you are capable of until you understand the meaning of “love”, love learned through and within the family. Love begins with the spouses and grows in their children. So, to be happy and have a happy life, more than anything else, you must do everything out of love.

Let's start with the next question, have you been counting the days until the next salary date? Or have you had an emergency, and you have not had the financial fluency to solve it? I'm sure you have. It happens to all of us because we do not organize the money and home finances in the same way that we do with the closet or the refrigerator. The best way to do this is by designing a family budget. Designing a family budget helps to organize the estimated income and expenses that each household has during a given period of time. By capturing this information in a systematic and organized way, we will know what the difference is between the two (income and expenses) to have a final balance of the money that is available. Sandra Velez, director of education for Qualitas of Life Foundation, recommends that when talking about money, the household must speak with everyone in the family. When designing the family budget, we must incorporate all family members, even the smallest of the house, so that from an early age they begin to distinguish income, expenses, desires, and needs, fundamental elements for the organization of household finances. Velez also explains the elements needed to plan the family budget. Elements of the family budget Income: all money that comes into the family Expenses: all the money that goes out Fixed: rent, mortgage, bank loans. They do not vary and are mandatory Variables: food, electricity, gas, water. These can be controlled and their consumption reduced. Needs: they are essential, we cannot eliminate them, but we can control them. Wishes: we can eliminate them, they are expendable Benefits of the family budget 1. Control our expenses 2. Set goals: home purchase, vehicle, vacation 3. Encourage savings: short, medium, or long term to meet goals 4. Give us occasional likes 5. Reduce family conflicts The design of the family budget 1. Take paper and pencil 2. Get together as a family and make decisions as a family 3. Establish the periodicity of the budget: monthly, biweekly, weekly… Always the same. 4. Detail all income and, with paper in hand, detail all fixed and variable expenses 5. You establish the differences between needs and wants 6. Set financial goals in the short, medium, and long term Smart secrets for managing the family budget Some recommendations given by Velez are the following: 1. Remember priorities 2. Expenses cannot exceed the income 3. Consider savings: piggy banks, accounts that have not been touched to know the family's saving capacity 4. Implement spending limits: outings for walks, to restaurants, children's allowance, others 5. Make a list of memberships and eliminate those that are not needed or are not being used 6. Control the number of credit cards, do not exceed 30% of the credit limit to maintain a good credit history, and pay more than the minimum monthly amount. ​ The Director of Education for Qualitas of Life Foundation, also recommends saving money for emergencies, in which case will avoid asking for loans, breaking the piggy banks, or asking for help from a family member. ​ Qualitas of Life Foundation offers different workshops that might help you to learn more about budgeting and other financial education topics. If you live in or outside the United States, you can access their free online courses. Sandra Velez referred to the 8 Sessions Course which is an intensive Financial Education Course that covers 8 topics: credit, my finances, frauds, banking system, among other four. Think that there are no magic formulas to manage the family budget, the financial success at home will depend largely on each member of the family. However, we can safely say that the family economy will be balanced as long as the income is higher than the expenses. If the family can assume the commitments satisfactorily and even save, it has intelligently managed its family budget.