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...
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...
In Appreciation for My Marriage: A Love Letter to My Parents
Dear Mom and Dad, You know I love, respect, and am blessed to have in my life the man I’m married to, right? Have I ever told either of you how much you have to do with that? As a young girl, you would not allow me to allow myself to be disrespected. There wasn’t...
A Dozen Roseless Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas (That are Outside the Chocolate Box!)
Let’s be honest – flowers and candy are kind of an easy out for Valentine’s Day. They’re nice, sure – but not the most creative gift choice. And what’s the deal with the price of roses doubling just for the occasion?? Costs skyrocket like the price of gas on Labor Day weekend – for no...
5 Ways to Make Superbowl Game Watching More Fun
Whether you love the actual game, or you’re humoring the one who does, here are 5 ways to make Superbowl Game watching more fun! 1. Gift Pass: Pick a play and start passing a gift item – maybe a thermo cup or $5 Coffee Card. No holding more than a 3-count! The person holding it...
17 Things Teachers Want to Tell Divorced Parents
Teachers can be a Guardian Ad Litem’s best friend. When I represent a child whose parents are going through a custody battle, charged with the duty of investigating for the purposes of making recommendations to the Judge about custody and visitation, I look forward to talking to the child’s teacher. After reviewing all the court...
The Magic Eye of Marriage
Remember those Magic Eye books and pictures that were everywhere in the early 1990s? Like the picture above, they were chaotic blurs of colors, shapes and seemingly abstract patterns. The promise was that if we looked at the two-dimensional picture in the right way, we would see a three-dimensional image emerge before our very eyes!...
5 Exercises to Skip When You’re Married
Exercising with your spouse is usually a good thing. Not only are you spending time with each other, you are both working together toward a common goal – an activity that reaps benefits in other areas of your marriage. But not all activity is created equal. There are some forms of exercise that, when done...
10 Ways You Can Tell the New Year is Here Without Leaving Your House or Looking at a Calendar
With horns tooting, fireworks popping, and Auld Lang Syne blaring off the TV, it’s pretty hard to miss the arrival of the New Year. But just in case you slept through the hoopla and haven’t heard any official announcement, here’s 10 ways you can tell the New Year is here without leaving your house or...
The Annual Marriage Assessment – 11 Questions to Get You Started
The beginning of a new year is often a time for evaluation, assessing, and planning for the upcoming twelve months. We analyze things like our health, our spiritual direction, our priorities, our careers and set goals regarding what we would like to do different, better, or not at all. Let’s not forget our marriage...