Even happily married couples can hit obstacles along the way. When this happens, couples can either go it alone and try to work through their issues themselves, or they can seek the guidance of a trained and experienced marriage counselor. While some couples feel their problems should be kept private, many more are finding the value of seeking help from an impartial and nonjudgmental third party. Here are 3 ways counseling can help your marriage.… Read More
A Letter to Myself
Here is a letter I wrote to myself… Dear Carma, It has taken you quite a few days to wrap your head and heart and thoughts and feelings around the horrific and deeply heartbreaking events that have occurred AGAIN in our nation. Four hundred years of deep scars from racism, injustice, prejudice, discrimination, disrespect and disregard for human lives and souls have left you and many in spine-chilling aftershock! Enough! I am… Read More
Self-Care when Alone in Quarantine
This week is a continuation of the blog from last week…how does one practice good, healthy self-care during a pandemic? What are ways to help build energy, relieve stress, and just simply have some enjoyment? Last week we looked at ways to take care of ourselves while quarantined at home with a family and feeling like you never have any time alone. This week we will address the opposite…you live alone and are feeling… Read More
Self-Care in Family Quarantine
Who would have thought we would experience a world pandemic in our lifetime? Didn’t stuff like that happen in the Middle Ages? Now that we are well into taking precautions, practicing social distancing, and mostly staying at home to keep ourselves and others safe, how do we take care of ourselves and practice good, healthy self-care? You know…doing things for yourself that you enjoy, that give you back some energy, and that relieve some of… Read More
Marriage Erosion
Two weeks ago those of us who live along the coast of Florida were preparing for and, in some cases, evacuating to safer places as Hurricane Dorian was churning in the Atlantic Ocean. After the storm passed, I went to the beach near my home to examine the damages. As you can see in the picture there has been quite a bit of beach erosion. A large section of the dunes are gone. I was sad… Read More
Cherish Your Independence
As I have a few minutes this beautiful (and very hot) Independence Day 2019, I take a few minutes to reflect on what freedom has meant to me through the years… The first thought is how thankful I am that my parents had the opportunity to be educated and be employed in different careers than their parents. This allowed them to build a better life for themselves, for me, and for my two brothers. I… Read More
Can I Trust You?
In this blog post I am going to focus on TRUST. It is a quality that is vital in all healthy and successful relationships. The picture of a woman skydiving with an experienced skydiver is a great visual of trusting. Once you jump out of the airplane you are completely in the hands of the other person. (Personally, it is on my bucket list to do a tandem skydive.) In relationships trust is a… Read More
Be Aware or Beware
“You should be more aware.” “What is it going to take for you to pay attention?” “Raise your awareness about…” “If you were more aware things would be different.” Awareness…what is it and what exactly does it mean and how to I learn it? It is a word we hear quite a bit on television talk shows. We see it referenced in books and magazines. But have you heard a definition or explanation? Well,… Read More
Celebrating 64 Years of Marriage
Today, January 18, 2019 is my Dad and Mom’s 64th wedding anniversary. When I think about that I am in wonder and amazement! How can two people live together for 64 years…and still love each other and, even better, still like each other? When people ask my mom what has been the secret of their successful marriage, she will answer, “He brings me coffee in bed every morning.” As I reflect on growing up and watching… Read More
Reflection and Resolutions
It is the beginning of a new year and many of us start planning what we would like to achieve or accomplish in the coming months…commonly know as our New Year’s resolutions. We come out of the holidays with renewed energy and resolve to make the year ahead of us better. This is a wonderful thing. Yet many times we get the cart before the horse in that we do not take the time to… Read More