Marriage: Troubled Waters or Sea Glass?
Have you ever experienced troubled waters in your marriage? Periods of time when you felt it was broken? Or had events occur that caused so much damage it seemed like the marriage was beyond repair? If you have been married any length of time, odds are good you’ve experienced some hurts, challenges, or obstacles to...
Keeping Secrets
I was keeping a secret from my husband, Steve, and it was starting to wear on me. Having to watch what I said, not meeting the eyes of another who was alluding to it in front of him. And it wasn’t even my secret. But I had agreed to keep it. As constrained and burdened...
5 Tips From a Family Mediator for Your Divorce Mediation
Divorce is tough enough without having to endure a public battle and reliving all the strife in a courtroom. An alternative to that knock-down-drag-out trial is mediation – the process of both parties sitting down with a trained individual who can help you arrive at agreements that best suit your circumstances. I’m not saying it’s...
7 Ways to Get Back the Childhood Magic of the Holiday Season
Think back to the last stress-free holiday season you enjoyed. Remember a time when the most stressful season event was trying not to peek at wrapped Christmas presents when your parents weren’t home? Many of us have to go back to our childhood years to find a time that was more simple pleasures than commercialism. Grab your...
Smile-Power in Marriage
Who are you saving your smile for? A disgruntled coworker? A parent you cut off in the drop-off lane? We use smiles in a deliberate way because we know their power. An upward twist of the lips can stop a griping employee in his tracks or ease the tension in a chaotic situation. ...
Marriage, Ladies’ Home Journal, and the Simple Things That Matter
In January, Ladies’ Home Journal Magazine (LHJ) asked what little things “you and your spouse do for each other” that make the marriage special. My husband and I had fun putting together our list to send in, reminding each other of little things the other had done that made us smile. When we heard back...
Marriage – 4 Things We Did Better in the 1950s
It was a simpler time – a gentler time. The good old days. Oh sure, life wasn’t perfect in the 1950s. Marriage wasn’t perfect in the 1950s – in spite of what was portrayed on programs like Father Knows Best and The Donna Reed Show. But there was some good stuff there that we...
The ME in Mediation – a New Perspective
Just when I thought I knew all there was to know about mediation, I learned something new. I know that mediation, the process of resolving legal issues with the assistance of someone trained to help warring parties find creative solutions, is often better for divorcing spouses than having a trial. I have served as a...