Extended Blessings

Children grow up, establish new lives, and if we’re really lucky they bring home new members to add to the family. I have been doubly blessed with the addition of a son and a daughter-in-law. I can’t say enough about them, and I’m sure they’d kill me for posting their photographs, but it’s my blog […]

Read More

Blended Blessings

Marrying for the third time entailed blending families – not always an easy task. I had three; he had two – bookends to mine. Falling in love is one thing, but the chances that all parties will be enthused about the idea is another. Ric’s oldest, a son, was already an adult when we met, […]

Read More

Third Time Lucky

I first married at nineteen, two years after I left home, and many years before I’d developed into the woman I would later be. We separated before our second wedding anniversary. Certain I was fatally flawed, I jumped at the next opportunity that came along – a relationship that would produce my three children and […]

Read More

Candid Beauty

I took this candid photo of my daughter-in-law on the night of her wedding celebration – just a quick image with my Iphone.  I feel like it captures her sweetness and genuine beauty. (Photo prompt from The Daily Post:  2107 Favourite)

Read More

Televised Sports and Tantrums

What is unresolved in childhood resurfaces in adult relationships; it rears its head with all the finesse and grace of a child throwing a tantrum. I am guilty of such behaviour. Movie nights with Mom happened once a week.  Dad would be at work, and Mom would make a big pot of buttered popcorn and […]

Read More

Blessing Of Interracial Union

“What’s her name?” “I can’t tell you.” “What?  Why not?  Do I know her?” “No, Mom.  If I tell you her name, you’ll ask too many questions that I’m not ready to answer yet.” “Oh.” “A son is sweetness and strength and mystery;” Call it Mother’s intuition, but I could tell there was someone special […]

Read More

Needs and Relationship

Needs, it seems, are an important ingredient in any healthy relationship.  I’ve been listening to Esther Perel’s podcast:  Where Should We Begin? and in almost every couple’s counselling session she records, needs come up. “I’ve never been any good at identifying my needs,” I tell my therapist in a recent session.  “In fact, from an […]

Read More

Building a Marriage

Sometimes ‘aha’ moments come out of the most unexpected events. I think it started with a compliment from my son.  He and his new wife had invited the family for dinner last night, and as my husband was tied up all day, Jay offered to pick me up early. “You look nice, Mom!” were the […]

Read More

Infidelity Speculations

“If twenty percent of couples are affected by infidelity, then who do you think that might be in our circle of friends?” It was a favourite game my former husband and I played after leaving our monthly get-together with the other moms and dads from our son’s preschool class. “Well out of ten couples that […]

Read More

Looking For Marital Advice From Reality TV

I’m obsessed with the television reality show:  Married At First Sight.  The show promotes itself as a social experiment:  over 30,000 singles apply to have experts find them a suitable spouse, out of which, six are chosen.  It’s a bit like coming across a car accident, and not being able to tear your eyes away; […]

Read More