Search Results for: blog what have i done to my marriage

Look Around: How is the Economy Doing?

Sometimes, in order to gauge the state of the economy, you just have to look around. I check the news reports often, and am intrigued by reports about trends that will affect how my family spends and saves. For example, when there were problems with the peanut crop, I made sure to stock up on peanut butter, a staple in my household. I also like to look around at what is happening locally, in my neighborhood and community. Houses seem to be selling better than they have in a long time, and this is good. Fewer abandoned properties and homes … Continue reading →

My Cupcake Kid

You might think that a kid with a sweet tooth is, while normal, not exactly ideal. We want our children to eat their veggies, have balanced diets, and to the extent it is possible avoid over-eating in categories that we know to be harmful to them in one way or another. Sweets are characteristically in this latter category, as they are rumored to cause hyperactive children and definitively rot teeth according to dentists and tooth-oriented businesses everywhere. So you’d be forgiven for thinking that my own little cupcake kid is for some reason a bad thing. You’d be forgiven for … Continue reading →

Will Your Marriage Be Stronger or Broken Apart?

Will this make my marriage stronger or will it break us apart? Have you ever asked yourself this, when faced with a life-altering event? Maybe you have never been in this place where it’s a consideration. But it was definitely something my marriage recently faced. The situation involved one of our teenaged children and it threatened from the very beginning to crumble things. We were both reeling from the circumstances and almost immediately, finger pointing was ready to begin. Who was at fault for this catastrophe, we seemed to be asking. I guess it’s natural to look for someone to … Continue reading →

Elizabeth Warren Really Does Have Cherokee Ancestry

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Elizabeth Warren is a Democrat who is a candidate running in the 2012 United States Senate election in Massachusetts. She is running against incumbent Scott Brown, who is a Republican. There have been some accusations that she used a false claim of minority status to advance her career. A genealogist has found evidence that Elizabeth Warren really does have Cherokee ancestry. For whatever reason, it has somehow become acceptable for politicians to question the heritage of the candidates who are running against them. I’m not entirely certain what they hope to achieve by these efforts, but it happens fairly frequently. … Continue reading →

When Marriage Is Built Upon Manipulation

Have you ever tried to manipulate circumstances in your marriage, just to get your way? While it might provide temporary pleasure, the long-term consequences of this can be devastating to a marriage. At one time or another, we have all probably tried to use manipulation on our spouse. The degree to which it was used and the outcome might vary, but for the most part these are the rare occurrences in a marriage. However, some marriages can end up being built on manipulation. If you do this, I will do that. If you give me such and such, I will … Continue reading →

Remarriage

I would like to be married again. I don’t often say that because I don’t want people to look at me with that pitying look. No, I’m not miserable and lonely but I would like someone to share my life with, someone to hold my hand and talk about the day. I’m sure I look at remarriage through rose colored glasses, the same way I looked at marriage once upon a time when I didn’t know how very wrong things could go. Now that I’m older, I wonder what exactly it means to be married now. When you are young … Continue reading →

My Unconventional Valentine’s History

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, but as you might be able to guess, Jon and I don’t really do anything for Valentine’s Day. The holiday does mean one thing: candy hearts. The weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day are the only time of the year I can find them. Their close companion Necco Wafers just aren’t the same. So I suppose one might say Jon gets me a Valentine’s Day present, because he usually buys me candy hearts. However, even this practice has two exceptions that probably exclude it as a Valentine’s celebration. First: Jon usually brings home … Continue reading →

Saving a Marriage

It seems like everywhere I turn lately, there are marriage problems…serious ones. Couples that you would never imagine considering divorce seem to be on that path. I recently met with a woman who had filed for divorce but then stopped it. She is willing, although very reluctantly, to give her husband a chance to work on his issues. They are serious, difficult issues. My heart feels for her. It is painful to see her pain. It would be easy for me to say, “Get out while you can.” But I tend to be of the mindset that you should first … Continue reading →

Marriages Need Compromise

I think one of the most difficult things to do in a marriage, or in any relationship, is to compromise. Compromise means you are willing to do your part to make something work. It often requires that you give something up. Last week was one where compromise was greatly tested. My husband took a week of vacation, more or less just to use it up, along with the fact that our kids were on their first week of summer break. However I was not on break, so I still had a full workload. Of course, working from home has a … Continue reading →

Marriage and Happiness – is it possible?

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While divorce is nothing new in this country, when I read about long-term marriages coming to an end, ala the Gore’s, the Schwarzenegger’s, and the Edward’s, I start to wonder if it is even possible to stay married forever anymore. I hear a lot about the “old days’, but I have a lot of grandparents due to multiple re-marriages. My great-grandparents remained together, but one spouse died long before the other. So maybe those that stay married forever over a real long time period are the anomalies. Maybe now that we live longer and more women are able to support … Continue reading →