Dear Family,

Last Tuesday, the house felt like it was vibrating. The TV was too loud, the kids were crashing into the walls, and I realized I was clenching my jaw so hard it hurt. My instinct—as a leader, a grandmother, and a CEO—was to get louder. More rules. More discipline. More volume. I thought that to manage the chaos, I had to out-roar it.

But then I sat down with Ellie Moss, the creator of the world of Lickitypop. Ellie didn’t build her brand from a business plan; she built it as a survival plan. In a chapter of her life that felt too sharp and too heavy, she realized she had become the loudest version of herself and had no capacity left to grow. So, she went the other way. She chose soft.

In this week's episode, we explore why "escaping" into wonder and imagination isn’t avoidance—it’s strategic maintenance. For our grandchildren who have survived trauma, and for us, the caregivers standing in the gap, our nervous systems need a sanctuary of jellybean forests and dragons who whisper bravery.

The Raw Truth: Drowning in the Noise

I realized then that as a CEO, I was trying to manage the chaos with more loud, more rules, more discipline, more volume. I didn't know how to choose soft without feeling like I was giving up control. I've been doing the same thing over and over, and guess what? I get the same results. I was struggling with a child that doesn't process things the same way the other child does. That's when I found a new way to communicate with my granddaughter through her imagination. My journal entry that night was just one sentence:

Choosing soft isn't giving up; it’s giving your family a place where growth can actually happen. Safety is found in the quiet, and for the 2.7 million of us, safety is our most precious commodity.

Inside the Project: Episode 102 This Week’s Guest:

Ellie Moss | "The Power of Sanctuary: Choosing Soft Over Loud" Ellie joins us to discuss the "Cozy Chaos" of Lickitypop and why caregivers need to give themselves permission to rely on imagination as a tool for restoration, not just an escape. [Link to Listen Here]​

The Reflection Room

The Reflection Room I want you to step into the Reflection Room with me. Look around your "boardroom" today. Is it a place that constantly demands more from you, or a place that offers you peace? Ask yourself: Am I trying to out-roar the chaos in my home, or am I brave enough to lower the volume and lead with a whisper?

The Toolbox: Tactical Moves

• Move 1: Build a "Cozy Corner." Create a physical sanctuary in your home—no screens, no loud toys, no demands. This is a predictable, safe space where your nervous system (and your grandchild’s) can recalibrate.
• Move 2: Lower the Sensory Input. Before the "midnight call" of bedtime chaos, intentionally dim the lights and choose a story that whispers. See if the "big feelings" in the room soften when you stop trying to match their volume.
• Move 3: Reclaim Your Imagination. Give yourself permission to engage with yourself (and with the kids) in "candy-colored" wonder. Imagination is how we remember who we are when everything else feels like duty.

We are 2.7 million strong. Still nurturing, and still here.

See you in the next boardroom,

Laura Brazan

Founder, The 2.7 Million Project/Host of Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: Nurturing Through Adversity

​https://www.grandparents-raising-grandchildren.org/​