Conquering Cabin Fever

If the only thing your child is suffering with right now is cabin fever, consider yourself lucky. Contrary to popular belief, kids can contract strep throat and hand-foot-and-mouth disease at the same time. Oh.Yes.They.Can. Let me tell you how I know this… Actually, I will spare you the gory details and instead share more practical advice for conquering cabin fever during these last days of winter break.  Students in our neck of the woods head back to class next Monday.  That means parents have to endure a few more days of kids complaining that their new Christmas toys are not … Continue reading

Heart. Broken.

The holidays will never, ever be the same for the families whose loved ones were tragically gunned down yesterday in Connecticut. Life will never be the same for them. If you are a parent, life is also likely different for you following Friday’s mass murder madness. It can be. It should be. That is, if you are able to gain perspective from the senseless act of violence. It’s one of life’s cruelest ironies:  To gain perspective we must often lose something incredibly precious. In the case of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings, more than two dozen families lost their … Continue reading

5 Emotions Infidelity Brings On and What to Do About Them

When a spouse cheats, your emotions run wild. Not only do you go through every emotion imaginable but you can experience them all at the same time. It’s enough to drive you insane. Understanding the emotions that come with infidelity can help you with the recovery process. Your emotions are normal, must be felt and processed and knowing how to do this is imperative to your healing. Infidelity Emotion #1: Rage Rage is more than anger; it’s an emotion that can send you into a flight of forbidden words you never thought you would say. It may make you do … Continue reading

Caring for a Co-Parent

It’s one thing to care for a child day in and day out, but imagine enduring a tragic turn of events that requires that you also tend to the needs of a dying spouse. For Carole Falconbridge, honoring her wedding vows, to have and to hold in sickness and in health to death do her part, from her beloved husband Dean, became even more challenging when the man she adored was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. But that was only half of her daily heart break. According to the 33-year-old wife and mother, the task that crippled her with … Continue reading

Death by Broken Heart

Can you die from a broken heart? According to British newspapers, the mother of French model and actress Isabelle Caro, who famously suffered with anorexia and died in November, took her own life earlier this month because she was immensely distraught over the death of her daughter. Britain’s Daily Mail reports that Marie Caro was apparently suffering from “enormous guilt” and committed suicide a few weeks ago. “[Marie] felt guilty for having put Isabelle in the Bichat Hospital. My daughter did not want to go to that hospital,” Isabelle’s stepfather, Christian told reporters. Medical experts recommended to Marie that 27-year-old … Continue reading

Can You Die of a Broken Heart?

Can you die of a broken heart? It appears you can. Our local paper ran a story about Vera Guthrie. Vera had been married to Tom for over 65 years. He died six months ago. According to family members she was broken hearted after her beloved husband died. And in fact, she died ‘when her aorta split.’ Contrast this lasting marriage, where she was broken hearted without her long term husband, with one I heard about recently. After costing over the parents of the supposed happy couple $30,000 for the wedding, the marriage lasted a total of six months. Wouldn’t … Continue reading

Do I Really Need a Replacement Ring?

Earlier this year I wrote about how I broke my ring. As much as I hate looking at my naked ring finger (which always reminds me that it’s my own fault my diamond’s not perched there anymore), I realized this past Saturday I don’t want another ring. Looking at New Rings My heart hasn’t been in the shopping mood anyway, but while we were waiting for a table at Carrabba’s Saturday night, Wayne suggested we skip across the parking lot to Jared’s and see what kind of rings they had. “I really need to get you another ring. It’s been … Continue reading

An Olympian Loses Her Wedding Ring During Competition

The other night when I was watching the Olympics, they covered a side story about how Kerri Walsh lost her wedding ring during a match. Nay, not any match. It was during her first round match against Japan. GULP! Being a sand volleyball player myself (though nowhere near even close to the same caliber as Kerri Walsh and her super star partner, Misty May), I know all about how the sand likes to swallow things up. Even though it was my diamond, not my entire ring, I also know how it feels to lose a ring given to you by … Continue reading

The Marriage Blog Week in Review for July 7-13

Poor Lyn has been quite the champ while I’ve been away. She took over covering Week in Reviews every week, instead of every other. (Thanks again, Lyn!) But now I’m back to resume my share of the duties. (Albeit I’m a wee bit off schedule this week.) At any rate, here’s a recap of what Lyn, Heather, and I wrote about on: Monday, July 7 Lyn shared more about relating to your man and the importance of it. She also examined issues of compatibility. Tuesday, July 8 Lyn wondered if verbal affairs were just as detrimental as physical ones. Lyn … Continue reading

Ignoring God’s Promptings

Have you ever felt prompted NOT to do a certain thing but went ahead anyway? Or you felt a prompting to do something but didn’t? Afterwards you realized you should have listened to that inner voice. A while back I had such an experience. For our 40th wedding anniversary my husband bought me a beautiful ring. I wanted to wear it to a 21st birthday party. So I did. We slept overnight at our son’s place, which meant I also wore the ring to the football game the next day. Even though I felt prompted to take the ring off, … Continue reading