Tag Archives: Family And Friends

[dropcap]I[/dropcap] met my husband through the online dating site Match.com. I don’t remember his profile or the emails before we met up for our first date (I must have liked something I read but can’t recall any of it). What I do remember was the long conversation we had over drinks and how we stayed at the restaurant until closing. Next, we went back to my house (I had a roommate and knew if things got weird I’d still be safe) and talked the night away until we both fell asleep on my couch. Without skipping a beat, we continued the date with breakfast and more great conversation over coffee.

Love is... Adulation, affection, devotion, emotion, infatuation, relish, worship… there are lots of words that are synonymous for love, but nothing can replace LOVE. It means so much, can be so much, and yet, it can be as simple as loving the colour orange. But what about embracing LOVE as a whole concept, about being LOVE? It’s about taking the energy of LOVE and emitting it throughout your day, sharing it, releasing it, circulating it and regenerating it. What does all that mean?

I think the problem is that I’ve never understood quite what love is. Is it having someone there for you when you need him or her? Someone who can listen when you need to vent and won’t judge you for your craziness? Someone who shares the same core values and supports you on your decisions? Seriously, do these seem like I expect too much?

There is a song that says to live like there is no more tomorrow and love like you are on borrowed time... Time is so precious. We never know when our last breath will be. We all have people around us suffering in many different ways.

Anais Nin once said, "Love never dies a natural death. It dies because we don't know how to replenish it's source. It dies of blindness and errors and betrayals. It dies of illness and wounds; it dies of weariness, of witherings, of tarnishings ". In part I whole heartedly agree with her. Love does not just fade away into the back ground. One or both parties let it die.

There are plenty of books out there that deal with how to tell your kids about sex, the dangers of promiscuity, how their bodies are changing, and protection. Talking with your daughter about the pleasures of sex is a whole other matter. How do we discuss the fact that it’s fun, adventurous, and meant to be shared? My goal here is to help you along, not to hand you a speech. I’ll cover some of the subjects you may not have even thought of as a teen but which our kids may be facing in school and on the internet.

Though I'm not claiming to be an expert in child development, I think having and raising 6 children (3 of which are grown, successful women) puts me in the ball park to at least give a little advice. Raising 5 girls has been a life-changing experience for me. I've seen my strengths and, of course, my weaknesses as they impact my girls. Over the years I've realized there are certain things that girls need to know in order to be strong, happy women. Here are my top 5 lessons to teach your daughter (preferably before she gets to college).

I am a mother. I have 3 little people. Two daughters and one son; ages 9, 7 and 5 respectively. I have a mother, and I have a mother-in-law. I also still have a living grandmother. So what is a mother? If we refer to the dictionary the definition is concise - a ‘female parent’. But how do we do it and what are our expectations of being a mother? What about having a mother? Surely it’s more than being a female parent. It’s about the nurturing, the teaching, the sharing, the guidance and the companionship. There are many books penned on just the issues of how to be a better mother and how to deal with the position of being a mother.

It's Mother-Daughter week and it is also “Triggers” week in my group therapy. Coincidence? I think not. The kicker – my mother (whom I do not have a relationship with) recently contacted me on Facebook. It’s funny when you start making changes in your life, the little things that you try to ignore, rear up their ugly heads. What would the old me do?

From the moment I knew you were inside my womb, I dreamed of how beautiful you would be, how smart, and how loving to the world around you. Your first cry marked the beginning of your incredible journey of life in a world that isn't always kind or loving back. So with the amazing joy I felt at that instant, a fear also gripped my heart. I was afraid of losing you. Every mother feels this bittersweet tug of war in her spirit. I also feared that I would somehow not be a good mother to you, that I would monumentally screw up your life in some obscure way.

I have gathered some savvy tips for whole health (body, mind, and spirit) in this practical article about weathering the holidays.

Time...the most precious resource that we have at our disposal. Well, not to say that we should be throwing it away. In fact, we need to rein it in, tame it, and make better use of it. If only there was twenty-five hours in a day, I could do so much more. Maybe it isn't that we need to do more; maybe we need to find out what is truly important, what is not, and make changes accordingly.