For years people have said, “I love your home. It’s warm, welcoming, and cozy.” We have had at least three realtors say, “I would like to purchase your house myself.” How did Les and I discover how to make our home, sweet home? I was blessed with a mother, a poor-farm housewife, who used to […]
Recently Les and I stayed with our daughter, Katie and son-in-law, Mark in their 720 square foot Amsterdam home. Mark passionately told me about a book he and Katie used to help bring order to their space. He introduced me to the work of petite, sweet, and neat, Marie Kondo, author of The Life-Changing Magic […]
Whether you call it the Holidays, like my Jewish friends, Ken and Natashia or Christmas or something else, it is a special time of year. There is the hustle and bustle of the season, the gifts. and the dining table laden with festive food. What better time to gather with friends or family to watch […]
The probability of arguing or disagreeing in a love relationship. Some describe these moments as Relationship Fighting.
Gallop Poll . . . They point out that, in their research, regardless of the wars and unrest in the world, seven in 10 people in 138 countries reported in their Positive Experiences Index significant amounts of:
1. enjoyment
2. laughing or smiling
3. feeling well-rested
4. being treated with respect
Why do we bother to volunteer? What’s the pay off? We ask lots of “what’s in it for me” questions in other areas of our life.
You and your dear one are discussing what to prepare for dinner. Suddenly your heart races and your fists clench. You are ready to fight, run or collapse. Your dearest is now the enemy! YIKES! You are now in the depth of an emotional trigger! Most of have been there! Repeatedly, when people ask, “What […]
When I attended a presentation by leadership trainer and author, Joan McArthur-Blair, the room was packed. The audience members were primarily career counselors. McArthur-Blair is the co-author (along with Jeanie Cockell) of the book, Building Resilience with Appreciative Inquiry: A Leadership Journey through Hope, Despair, and Forgiveness. I was pleased to buy a copy of […]
I propose that we, that includes you, demonstrate courage every day in many ways. The meaning of courage is to feel anxious or scared but take positive action anyway. It’s easy to see courage in action from our esteemed role models. Mother Teresa tirelessly worked in the slums of Calcutta. Nelson Mandela spent years in […]
As a therapist, I witness people whose lives have fallen apart or have become unbearable to continue as is. I often hear the simple but dreadfully difficult question to answer, “Why?” People naturally long to create meaning from their emotional pain. Resilience is called upon when we face tough situations. We want to bounce back, […]
Consider this thought “I need to provide self-care to the mother of my children.” We do our family no favor when we become a stressed mother. Our children need us at our best. To do that, we need to treat ourselves as if we are deserving and cherished. Indeed, most of us are! Mothers, whether […]
“Stress is nothing more than a socially acceptable form of mental illness.” Richard Carlson The kids were fighting. The phone was ringing. There was no time for breakfast. I was going to be late for work. I ran out the door with the kids, my coffee, and a headache. That scenario is an example of […]