The Morning After For many of my readers today is the Morning After Christmas. The day when all the hoopla that has been the focus of attention is over. There is often a mixed feeling of relief and let down coming together all at once. Some cultures have addressed this issue by making a special Holiday to finish off the festivities. Boxing Day is the one I am familiar with, having been a part of an Irish family for many years in my first marriage.
The path of relationship is sometimes called the most difficult spiritual practice of all, but these five simple guidelines can go a long way toward helping you to happier, healthier relating of all kinds.
As parents, we must engage in many unpleasant and difficult situations. It's the tough talks that our children remember. Explaining death is one of those topics. Our kids are exposed to death each day. Listen to the new, or watch cartoons in the morning and you will find yourself astonished by all the violence and references to death. Our children have become somewhat desensitized by death until it happens to a pet, a family member or a national crisis such as what happened ten years ago on September 11.
We recently shared the news that fewer couples are divorcing due to infidelity, which seems like a great victory for the legions of faithful, til-death-do-us-part men and women of the world. But unfortunately, though it's not causing married couples to beeline it to divorce court, the fact of the matter is this: Cheating still happens.
It's always a tricky tightrope when you're dealing with a dude to know when to be there for him—and when to cut and run. Here's a handy guide that will help you know when your guy is just being a guy—or if you've got a dud on your hands who needs to be dumped.
I love eating dinner as a family, but helping my husband focus on family time can be a challenge. These are my tips for making dinner a true family experience.
I am officially, unofficially implementing a new rule for coupled people everywhere. Please, please, please if you are spoken for, you must mention it within five minutes of having a flirty conversation with me. I am forever meeting men in social situations (I'm sure ladies do this too, so feel free to chime in guys) who will sit and talk to me for 15 minutes, half hour, sometimes even longer, will go so far as to get my number or give me theirs and wait until the very last second that we're saying good bye to inform me that they are in a relationship or even married.
Brevity is the soul of relationship talks. The shortest distance between two hearts is a straight line. Don't be a blabbercheeks. I don't think I'm being clear: When you are discussing important issues with your significant other, keep the conversation short and sweet and to the point. One of the great male stereotypes is that men loathe having to talk about anything serious. That dudes would prefer a forced eel colonic to sitting down and hashing out our feelings. Part of this stereotype is the notion that men are scared of their emotions. This is actually partially true. We are scared of our emotions, and that's why we respect them. Emotions can make a man feel like a soaring kite one moment and a gym sock full of warm parfait the next.
Over the weekend, Psychological Science published a study saying that people are happier when they spend more time discussing meaningful topics than engaging in small talk. Seventy-nine college students had their conversations recorded and analyzed by researchers, who distinguished between chit-chat about the food or the weather from discussions about philosophy, education, or religion. Subjects who reported the greatest amount of satisfaction spent only 10 percent of their conversation on small talk, while the unhappiest subjects kept 28.3 of their talking time in the shallow end.
How to bring up religion without scaring him away.
So, what should you ask on the first date? Well, I will first answer this with what not to ask...anything that is boring! This is an excellent way to ensure this is your last date with her. Remember, women are not attracted to boring guys. It's that simple.
