This is Part 1 in a series about the balance between self and parent, and parenting during challenges. Part 1: The Quiet Chat and why I had it When I worked in publishing, one of my authors, a doctor, introduced me to a new phrase: The Quiet Chat. You don't want to know what it means, but I'm going to tell you anyway. It's the medical equivalent of the Blue Wall. In other words, when a doctor has a problem---drugs, alcohol, shaky hand, memory loss, etc---the medical world prefers to deal with it quietly, behind closed doors. Without going into any kind of discussion about the pros and cons of this strategy for managing problems, let's just leave our stomachs right in that gut reaction of More Than Faintly Disturbed and transition over to the kind of Quiet Chat parents get to have. Don't you prefer to handle your family's situations privately? And yet, how often do you really get to do that? Of all the things in life, parenting tends to be one of the most public...