Coming Home From Work: Making The Daily Switch Successful
Hello families! I love this picture! It reminds me of what is really important in life. I bet most people imagine a similar picture of a homecoming after a long term absence. But what about coming home everyday? Does it look and feel like this? Is homecoming from work one of the hardest times of the day for you? After a long day of work–selling, building, manufacturing, managing, teaching, counseling, protecting, advising clients. Hopefully there is some constructive feedback from the boss (or not!). Then you commute home. Which is...
read moreSpring Flowers and Relaxation Reminders
Hello Families! Every spring in Texas I look forward to the fruit trees flowering. This one pictured above is my favorite. Once a year this tree flowers for about 2 weeks. I don’t know if it’s a peach or pear tree or something else. But the color of the flowers is mesmerizing. This year there were even a few blossoms that were a much lighter shade of pink. Although I enjoy spring flowers, I don’t always notice them. I’ve passed by this tree more than a dozen times in the past week and this is the first time I’ve...
read moreFeeling Worthy: An Act Of Courage
Hello world! As I have changed directions in my life and moved fully into owning and running my own business, I find myself face to face with feelings of fear and failure. Daily. And this fear and sense of failure is motivating, deflating or overwhelming, depending on the moment I’m in. And the moments that are deflating and overwhelming are the times that I question my worth. I feel doubt and dread. I feel that I don’t matter. And that can lead to some dark places. But I’ve learned that this is where I have to...
read moreSelf-Care: Getting By With A Little Help From Your Friends
Hello Families! Sometimes life knocks pretty hard. Sometimes life knocks super hard. And the knocks can leave us feeling bruised, beat up, hurt and weakened. Nearly everyone can identify with this to some degree. My question is: What did you do to take care of yourself during this time? And for those feeling this way as you read this: What are you doing to take care of yourself right now? Rocky Balboa is one of my favorite cinematic heroes. He’s a simple guy, a boxer, not particularly talented, not particularly clever. What Rocky does...
read moreInternet Safety for Families
Here is a confession: the more and more research I do, the more I end up diverted on things I find fascinating. Like most of you, my favorite tool for this is the internet. One of my favorite websites is: www.ted.com. There are so many academic, scientific, artistic and humanities presentations on ted.com that I could spend hours just absorbing– until my brain turns to jelly! The website’s primary aim is to inform and explore ideas that are changing the world. And it’s free! As parents, teaching a child how to...
read moreEducating Boys
Hello Families! I recently heard on the NPR radio show Tell Me More a conversation on the topic of the academic achievement gap between boys and girls in American schools. I was quite schocked to hear that the statistical information since 2003 indicates that for every 135 females that graduate from college, only 100 males graduate. What is more telling is that disparity further increases among African American and Latino boys. This information comes from a study by Cornwell, Mustard and Van Parys (2012) that appeared in the Journal of Human...
read moreValentine’s Day is a week from today!
Hello World! As a couples counselor and relationship therapist, I wanted to throw out a friendly reminder to all that Valentine’s Day is approaching next week. Valentine’s Day is a day to celebrate your love for your partner or someone you love. This love celebration occurs across cultures, although the day, days and rituals of celebration vary. While Valentine’s Day in our culture is celebrated once a year, your relationship actually needs celebration, romance and passion everyday. Passion is kindled by a deep appreciation...
read moreMen: Tips For When You Hit The Wall In Your Relationships, pt. 1
Hello Gentleman, I thought I’d take a lesson from marathon racing as an example of how to care for yourself with more kindness. “Hitting the wall” is a marathon term for when your body says “No more, that’s it.” The bummer is that it usually occurs 6-8 miles before the finish line! Most marathoners and athletes know the psychological shift that occurs when a part of you says, “I’m throwing in the towel.” Like the last rep in lifting weights that just doesn’t want to get off your...
read moreRaising Self-Confident Kids, pt. 2
“Till Max said “BE STILL” and tamed them with the magic trick of staring into all their yellow eyes without blinking once and they were frightened and called him the most wild thing of all” –Where The Wild Things Are Hello Families! The first part of “Raising Self-Confident Kids” discussed the importance of encouraging imaginative play with your children. Max, from Where The Wild Things Are, reminded me of this lesson. Another important lesson I’m reminded of and really appreciate...
read moreThe world record for marriage is 87 years!
Hello Families! As 2013 begins and we celebrate the New Year, I thought to draw some relationship inspiration from the oldest living married couples in the world. Karam and Katari Chand are seeking the record in the Guinness Book of World Records. Karam is 107 and Katari is 100. Currently they are validating 87 years of marriage to Guiness. Here are some things they say to others about the success of their relationship excerpted from the website: www.dailymail.co.uk “Always be faithful: always be faithful to one another. When you get...
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