God, grant me the Serenity To accept the things I cannot change... Courage to change the things I can, And Wisdom to know the difference. (The Serenity Prayer) Several years ago, when my mother had severe dementia and was extremely ornery and contrary, my sister suggested that I read and [Read More]
Life’s lessons come when you least expect them, and my mediation training comes in handy at such unexpected times. Recently, my husband and I adopted another English springer spaniel- Buddy. He is about 6 years old, and my husband and I are still getting to know Buddy and his temperament. Last [Read More]
Thanksgiving is in a few days, and I want to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very Happy Turkey Day! I also want to take a moment to thank each of you- my readers and clients- for reading my blog each week and for allowing me to help you [Read More]
Thanksgiving is in a few days, and I want to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very Happy Turkey Day! I also want to take a moment to thank each of you- my readers and clients- for reading my blog each week and for allowing me to help you [Read More]
Happy July 4th! I hope each of you and your families enjoy the holiday! As I am in the business of conflict resolution or resolving disputes, I got to thinking about the back story behind July 4th. After all, it was a dispute that got settled by guns and warfare [Read More]
The holidays are upon us, and with them come the usual stress and tension that family events often bring. Over Thanksgiving, I had an experience that put it in perspective for me. Although I am supposed to be the conflict resolution person, it was a cousin that gave me a [Read More]
The December 2014 edition of The Atlantic contains an interesting article entitled “The Real Roots of Midlife Crisis” by Jonathan Rauch. In it, he notes that mid-life crisis is not a unique reality to the United States. Rather, it is a worldwide phenomenon explained by science and more particularly the [Read More]
In 2000, when I took my first mediation training class, my teacher discussed the five stages of loss and grief first proposed by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross in her 1969 book, On Death and Dying. The particular training course I was attending focused on divorce mediations and so the stages were relevant [Read More]
