Lucette and Cathy tackle a common issue how do you forgive? Tune in to hear some examples of when it worked...and when it didn't.

Cathy & Lucette Bloomgarden interview author and Intuitive Business Coach, Priscilla Stephen, who recently had to readjust her family's life and business to help her 84-year-old mom who had a sudden need for care. She temporarily relocated from California to NY to assist her mom, who is now in recovery, from a series surgery. We talk about balancing care-giving with self-care and how to juggle everything in the face of a sudden and life threatening change to a parent. As she puts it "Two months, one surgery, and a whole lot of WTF moments".

Crisis Action Checklist Suggestion for the Sandwich Generation:

If you are navigating this right now, use this immediate prioritized sequence to stabilize the situation:

1. Secure the Legal Forms: If your parent is competent, immediately have them sign a Durable Financial Power of Attorney and a Healthcare Proxy/Advance Directive. If they are incapacitated and no POA exists, ask the hospital social worker about emergency guardianship or "surrogate decision-maker" statutory laws in your state.
2. Forms to have: Healthcare Proxy / Medical Power of Attorney-Designates someone to make medical decisions. Without it, doctors may refuse to share diagnoses or treatment options due to privacy laws.
3. Durable Financial Power of Attorney-Grants authority to manage bills, bank accounts, and property.Allows you to use their money to pay for their care, care facilities, and household bills.
4. Living Will / Advance Directive- Outlines explicit end-of-life medical preferences.Prevents traumatic family disputes over life-prolonging treatments during a medical crash.
5. HIPAA Authorization- Names individuals authorized to receive medical updates.Ensures nurses and doctors can legally speak to you on the phone regarding daily care.
6. Halt the Discharge Until Safe: Do not let a hospital discharge your parent if you feel it is unsafe. You have the right to request a formal review from a Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) to appeal a premature Medicare discharge.
7. Locate the Paperwork: Create a central binder or digital folder. Gather their health insurance/Medicare cards, a master list of all current medications, their birth certificate, and bank statements.
8. Deploy a Care Navigator: Go to the Aging Life Care Association to find a local Care Manager, or utilize the federal Eldercare Locator to find your local Area Agency on Aging (AAA) for free resource guidance.
9. Protect Your Job & Health: Request an urgent meeting with your HR department to discuss FMLA or flexible working hours. Delegate child care duties (school pickups, meals) to friends, neighbors, or parent networks immediately—you cannot be in two places at once.

This episode explores the dynamics of in-law relationships after a marriage ends, emphasizing that these relationships can continue positively with the right approach. The hosts share personal stories, practical advice, and insights on maintaining family bonds beyond divorce.

Key Topics

• Impact of divorce on in-law relationships
• Personal stories of family bonds after divorce
• Strategies for maintaining positive relationships with in-laws
• The role of forgiveness and understanding in family dynamics
• The importance of non-judgmental communication and boundaries

Permission to Be Brave, Play, and Grow

Finding Your Voice: An investment into the most important relationship - with yourself.

Plus a preview of new song by Cathy Riva "Let's Go Play".

This episode is for any adult—especially parents and people entering a new chapter of life—who want to try something unfamiliar, reconnect with their identity beyond their roles, or find the courage to follow a creative curiosity. It may also resonate with anyone working to build a more understanding relationship with their in-laws.

The conversation centers on Cathy’s year long new hobby, writing and recording an album as a way to invest in herself, find courage, and explore who she is beyond family and work roles. It also touches on the trust and mutual change that helped a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law build a close relationship.

Cathy's Album is out on all platforms of music November 19th.

What would you like to give yourself permission to do next or What are you already doing that invokes Play?

When you marry someone, you don't just marry a person. You marry their traditions, too.

In this episode, Cathy and Lucette explore the nuances of family traditions, relationships, and the importance of inclusiveness and communication in building strong bonds across cultural and generational lines.

key topics

• The role of family traditions in bonding and conflict
• How to handle cultural differences in family celebrations
• The importance of communication and flexibility in relationships
• Stories of family traditions and their significance
• Strategies for inclusiveness and understanding in family dynamics

keywordsfamily traditions, relationships, inclusiveness, communication, cultural differences, mother-in-law, daughter-in-law, holiday customs, family bonding

What happens when someone you love gives you advice you absolutely did not ask for?

This week we are talking about unsolicited advice- from BOTH sides of the mother-in-law/ daughter-in-law relationship.

When is it helpful? When is it overstepping? And how do you say, "Thanks, but no thanks" without starting a family feud?

Plus... We are both putting ourselves WAY outside our comfort zones.

Cathy is going to record her debut album - and the nerves are kicking in. Meanwhile, Lucette has big news: she found a publisher for her thriller!

A mother-in-law with a book. A daughter-in-law with an album. Both coming out this year.

Apparently, reinvention doesn't have an expiration date.

And, yes... we still have plenty of advice for each other. Whether anyone asked for it is another story. Please reach out with your thoughts (I promise we want to know) @mustinlawsbeoutlaws and mustinlawsbeoutlaws@gmail.com.

What do you do when your Mother-in-law moves in? And the joke of the day where expectations and pre-conceptions take an unexpected turn!

Get curious, put yourself in their shoes and buckle up as Cathy Bloomgarden and Lucette Bloomgarden jump into another audience question and communication is key! Monthly family meetings could create connection.

After a summer hiatus, Cathy and Lucette are back - with stories, changes, laughs and a little empty nest reality.

We catch up on our summer adventures, talk about what it feels like when kids leave for college and the house suddenly gets a whole lot quieter, and then tackle a listener dilemma that may sound VERY familiar:

What do you do when your Mother-in-Law is always at your house... and you just want some space?

How do you set boundaries without hurting feelings?

We are talking privacy, family expectations and how to protect your relationships without turning your in-laws into outlaws.

We didn't always get along. Now we are the best of friends. And we have thoughts. Tune in and reach out @mustinlawsbeoutlaws and mustinlawsbeoutlaws@gmail.com