While I am not a philosopher, I love Aristotle’s thoughts on the golden mean, the appropriate midpoint between two extremes. It is a place of balance, a place that allows us time and space to move thoughtfully forward without rushing. Why is it that we struggle with finding this golden point in our lives? We [read more] …
leadership
A Parent’s Most Important Job
Even though I had a degree in child development, even though I’d watched good parents for several years, I was still caught off guard by the ever-growing fact that my kids were their own people, unlike me in various ways. It took a long time to realize that my children would never be exactly what [read more] …
It Matters That We Matter
As human beings, we are hardwired with a deep need to matter to someone. Even those of us who are extreme introverts want to be in relationship with others who care if we show up, who depend on us. This is part of the reason that the empty nest hits so hard. Suddenly children don’t [read more] …
The Bedrock of Self-Concept
Every person has an image of himself or herself that has been forged by experience and how they see themselves in the eyes of others. Over years, we add layer upon layer of words we use to describe ourselves and grow comfortable with our place in the scheme of things. This persona is vitally important [read more] …
Summer Sojourn
Thoughtful parents walk a fine line when helping their children plan summertime. We do want those in-between months to be enriching. We hope they will pump a needed breath of fresh air into our days. We need them to provide a creative pause in our child’s life (and our life as well). However, in certain [read more] …