by Nancy | Sep 3, 2025
Getting through the dog days of summer can be a challenge. While not generally lazy, I am finding myself putting off more things than I get done each day. So, my “to do” list keeps growing like the pile of clothes I need to take to the women’s...
by Nancy | Aug 27, 2025
During practically every divorce mediation, I remind my clients that, although they’re no longer a couple, they will always be a family. I offer up scenarios where they’ll likely be sitting next to or near each other, such as graduations, birthday parties,...
by Nancy | Aug 20, 2025
When you imagine an empty bucket and then fill it, what goes in? Water? Sand? Popcorn? Something intangible? At least once a week, a divorcing couple comes into my office carrying a bucket of resentment. One or the other has either cheated, spent too much money,...
by Nancy | Aug 13, 2025
Helen Mirren once said: “Before you argue with someone, ask yourself, is that person even mentally mature enough to grasp the concept of a different perspective? Because if not, there’s absolutely no point.” I wish I would have learned this lesson a...
by Nancy | Aug 6, 2025
On a recent flight from Milwaukee, I finished an extraordinary novel. I had to explain to my seatmates that the reason I kept blowing my nose was the sad ending, and not that I was sick. (Comment below and I’ll tell you the title.) Because one of the underlying...
by Nancy | Jul 30, 2025
I drive past unhoused people almost every day. Sometimes, especially when it’s raining, I will lower my car window and hand over a dollar. But most of the time, I simply look the other way. I guess I’m more compassionate in the rain than I am in the sunshine. I do...
by Nancy | Jul 23, 2025
Some labels are important. After all, I don’t want to grab jar of orange marmalade when I’m really looking for apricot preserves. Other than the important ones (like those on wine bottles), I dislike labels. I don’t like the scratchy ones inside my t-shirts,...
by Nancy | Jul 16, 2025
If you’re an employee who’s having or who has ever had an office romance, raise your hand. To be completely transparent, I’m raising my hand right now as well. Surveys report that 60% of people responding have dated a co-worker at one time or another and if...
by Nancy | Jul 9, 2025
Congratulations! Your youngest kid is off to college and now, for the first time in decades, it’s just the two of you. Sometimes that empty nest is an opportunity to strengthen your connection, and sometimes it’s a realization that there’s nothing...
by Nancy | Jul 2, 2025
I wish I would have kept track of how many times I’ve heard those words since I became a mediator. Mostly, the parties involved are siblings. No two stories are ever the same, and there is always a self-righteous undertone. “She’s the one who needs to apologize, not...
by Nancy | Jun 25, 2025
My divorce mediation clients often accuse each other of not having empathy. And I find myself tossing the word around like it’s commonplace. Honestly, I used to think either you have it or you don’t, and if you don’t, it’s too late to learn. ...
by Nancy | Jun 18, 2025
Several weeks ago, I ran into a former divorce mediation client when we were both exiting a nearby restaurant. We stopped to chat for a few minutes and she told me that she’d recently lost her grandmother. She said there were many mourners at the funeral...
