Family Relations

“As a thirteen-year-old, I’ve got it all figured out why I need a mom and a dad. When Mom says no to ice cream, I can go ask Dad. And when I want to invite boys over, Dad says no, so I go ask Mom. “But really, I’m here to talk about why every child deserves a mom and dad. From my mother, I have a pattern to follow, and I can learn what it means to be a woman. Certain understandings can only happen between a mother and daughter. I would pattern my cooking after my mom’s, but she burned dinner twice last week. Actually, she lit it on fire. She isn’t perfect. No mother is, but in my world, she can’t be replaced. “My father protects me and helps me to figure out the immature minds of those boys I want to invite over. My dad’s example and advice helps me see the male perspective and brings a balance to my life as a young woman. “When I was eight or nine, I had a close friend whose parents were getting divorced. She asked me, “If you had to give up one parent, which would you ch...

When I was younger my parents tried EVERYTHING to try to get my siblings and I to do our chores. For us kids, cleaning the house was the worst thing that could ever happen to us. We would wine and complain every time we were asked to help around the house. We were usually asked to help clean up dinner after we had all ate. And dishes were by far the worst job in the history of jobs. We hated doing the dishes. Then on Saturdays we would have Saturday jobs which meant we had to deep clean the house. We were in charge of our bedroom and another room in the house. We would need to dust and vacuum that room. And looking back on it now, the jobs would have been done really fast. But we would all complain about doing it for a couple of hours, then we would start cleaning. But while we were cleaning we would be crying and complaining about it. I made that sound really dramatic and maybe we were as bad as I made it sound... but we for sure did NOT like it at all!! Now that I am older, I see...

Communication is a big part in all our lives. There is verbal communication and even non-verbal communication (other forms as well). I do know communicating in a relationship or with your spouse can be tricky at times. Communication is something we need to work on all the time. But how can we be better communicators? What can we do to better understand others, or make sure we don’t hurt someone else’s feelings on accident? In the text by Laurer and Laurer (you know the one I always quote). They had a list of ideas on how we can become better communicators. The list goes as follows… Improving listening skills ·       Take initiative to communicate ·       Resist distractions ·       Control your emotions and tendency to respond before your spouse is finished ·       Ask questions, rephrase for clarity ·       Summarize ·    ...

Families under stress sounds like an everyday occurrence, doesn't it? But what if I told you that was a good thing? What if stress is good for you? Would you believe me? I know I might sounds crazy, but stress can help us grow as a person. When we are put in those tough situations, individually or as a family, we are pushed to work harder and to become better. Having those challenges in our lives can help us grow closer to those around us, and we can also learn more life skills. Stress can definitely benefit our lives. We can learn so much from being stressed out. In my life I have been stressed out plenty of times. But that just means there is extra strain or tension in my life. I have seen on those days that I feel the most stressed out, I don't feel like I can accomplish whatever is stressing me out. I feel like I won't be able to move on. But then after the day passes then I realize, "wow I did it, I could do it after all." It is interesting to see that in the...

This week I wanted to focus on the topic on infidelity in marriage. When we think of infidelity we think first think of affairs- having our spouse cheat on us with another individual. And yes that is in fact ONE example of infidelity. The dictionary defines infidelity as "the action or state of being unfaithful to a spouse or other sexual partner." I want to focus on the work "unfaithful." So if we flirt with another individual that is not our spouse, we are being unfaithful. If we are sharing feelings/emotions in non appropriate ways, we are bing unfaithful. Infidelity doesn't always have to involve sex! There are other ways we can be disloyal to our spouse. In our day there are a lot of different issues we see with infidelity. We have great access to the internet and we are able to connect with old friends/ex's so easily! It is very important that we take caution in that and think before we comment on a status, or before we message someone. It is even po...

When explained to me what marriage was, I was always told it was something magical. It was like rainbows and butterflies all the time. But then I got married, thinking it was my fairytale. And don't get me wrong, it is a fairytale. But... the fairytale has it's hard times. When you find your "one and only" you want to do everything you can for this person. You want to spend your whole life with them. You want to grow old together. But then you get married and life gets a little harder. You start to see differences in each other. There are more little arguments that pop up everyday. But why? Why are there hard times when marriage is supposed to be a wonderful dream? I personally feel that marriage a commitment. You and your spouse commit and love each other for eternity. You promise each other that you will work through the hard times and the good times. You will be side by side, always working together with one goal in mind. And think about it, you probably have ne...