Hope Arrived

Last fall, I planted hope. Over the long winter, when it was dark and cold, and I’d be working at my dining room table in the evenings, I’d think about the tulips that were planted outside in the frigidness. It seemed impossible that anything that was out there wasn’t completely dead (which is why I …

A Lanyard–A Gift for Mom

Parenting is a monumental challenge. The amount of energy that we pour into our children is incredible. Today, children thank their mother–in a sweet but inadequate way. Watch the video and chuckle: sitellite/util/snippets (code=b72f160b2df689924ff977cc03ed626b) There is no way a child can “pay back” a parent for all that has been done…though the task of watching them …

A Wince that Heals and Understands

I’m a student of the therapy profession. I love to know what makes an therapist an exceptional one, what a therapist does that is helpful, that gives a person hope, that has the person believing enough after the first session that it feels worthwhile to come back. Therapy is a risky venture as a person …

The Five R’s of Parenting

by Julie Freedman Smith and Gail Bell of Parent Power In an effort to protect children from the world at large, paretns can fall into a pattern of puffing children up with false praise and gradiosity to build self esteem. These techniques have been proven to backfire, resulting in children who feel tremendous pressure to …

Love–Grab It, Give It

I have never met a person whose greatest need was anything other than real, unconditional love. You can find it in a simple act of kindness toward someone who needs help. There is no mistaking love. You feel it in your heart. It is the common fiber of life,the flame that heals our soul, energizes …

Celebrating Lemonade Today

Sometimes we choose our challenges. I’ve chosen to run a half marathon. It was planned for. Measured. I chose the adventure. Sometimes life chooses our challenges for us. Yuck! Challenges not of our choosing are thrust upon us. There is a reason we don’t choose some of these challenges. There is very little pleasant about …

Consider counselling

Therapy, or counselling as it is often known is seen by skeptics as something for the weak who don’t have the strength for their own problems. Or for the clueless, who can’t think for themselves. Or for the self-centered who need to hear themselves talk. Or only for women who need to “talk about their …