It was on a sunny and warm June morning some 25 years ago that I was going to turn the gas on and not light the stove. At the time, I was living in the Belmont Shore section of Long Beach, California. The “poor man’s Newport Beach” is what I called it. I had a small apartment across the [...]
“What is it like,” people ask, “to be a grandparent?” My first answer to this question is a very truthful, “I don’t know.” Because like many novel experiences in life one has to live with the novelty for a time and allow the experience to unfold. After all, grandparenthood is not a [...]
It has been well over a month and fallout from the Ashley Madison hack continues. In conducting a search on the topic I was astonished by the mere scope of the story. More than 30,000.000 accounts. Multiply that by the family members that are affected by the release of user names and the number [...]
If you live long enough you will inevitably fall into moments where you feel like you’re in a rut. Stuck in the mud. Even bored or more accurately, unmotivated. Well, what if I were to tell you that you have more than 10,000 opportunities to make a change and re-gain that spark that is uniquely [...]
“To the lover of wilderness, Alaska is one of the most wonderful countries in the world.” — John Muir We recently returned from a vacation cruise of South East Alaska. First of all, if you ever have the opportunity to the same of similar trip, do so. It was a memorable adventure. For[...]
What were your expectations of your marriage or relationship when you and partner started out? How many and what kind of expectations did you have? How many of those expectations have been met thus far? If your answer to the last question is, “some but not all,” congratulations. You've been [...]
My wife and I met our first grandchild a few days ago. The experience of meeting, or more precisely, encountering my grandson for the first time resides far beyond any ability I may possess to describe. One thing is and was clear: Becoming a grandparent is a visceral reminder of the [...]
The Road Not TakenBy, Robert Frost Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,And sorry I could not travel bothAnd be one traveler, long I stoodAnd looked down one as far as I couldTo where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair,And having perhaps the better claim,Because [...]
You don’t have to work in a helping profession like mine for very long before, like Dr. Brene Brown, you realize that connection is “why we are here.” Connection with others is what we all seek. When our relationships function well, we function well. Yet our connections with others, [...]
Raise your hand if you can honestly say you have never been angry. Ok, this is for the rest of you who have, at some point in your life, been angry. Webster’s online dictionary defines “anger” as: “a strong feeling of being upset or annoyed because of something wrong or bad : the [...]