by Nancy | Jul 3, 2024
Once in a blue moon, I get a call from a divorce client telling me that the couple has reconciled. It’s news I’m always happy to hear, especially if they have children and even more especially, if they’re willing to do the work. Unfortunately, what typically happens...
by Nancy | Jun 26, 2024
In my divorce mediation practice, I occasionally hear from a client who is struggling with an annoying ex. I hear that the former spouse can’t seem to let go of the past and is desperately seeking a reconciliation. (Emphasis here on “desperate.”) ...
by Nancy | Jun 19, 2024
As a divorce and family mediator, I am involved in multiple, deeply serious conversations every day. Listening to my clients, and more importantly, helping them listen to each other, is critical to the success of each and every mediation. So, maybe I’m like...
by Nancy | Jun 12, 2024
Although I’m technically not a grandmother, I have personally witnessed the unconditional love of a grandparent for a grandchild, and vice versa. I believe it can be one of life’s greatest joys.But what if grandparenting isn’t exactly joyful? I know...
by Nancy | Jun 5, 2024
I have a friend whose wife is everywhere and anywhere with the kids or her co-workers, yet makes no time, in his eyes, for their marriage. He’s told me on numerous occasions that he has no friends, and that he feels abandoned in his own home. I have another friend...
by Nancy | May 29, 2024
It’s ironic that professionally, I help other people resolve conflict, yet in my personal life, I am decidedly conflict averse. Despite my attempts to avoid them, when I find myself getting sucked into an argument, I push back, defend myself, and go to the...
by Nancy | May 22, 2024
What happens when your kids catch you in a lie? Do you lose all credibility forever? When I was about 5 or 6 years old, I heard the term “white lie” for the first time, directly from my mom. (I Googled the expression to make sure it wasn’t racist...
by Nancy | May 15, 2024
People who win Powerball, the Lottery, or a ginormous slot machine jackpot are definitely lucky. How about winners of the Super Bowl, the NBA Championship, the Stanley Cup, or the World Series? Are they lucky? Am I lucky when I make every green light along Eastern...
by Nancy | May 8, 2024
Despite all the news about cyber-bullying, shaming is not solely a social media phenomenon. I can trace it back to my childhood (way, way before the internet), when my kindergarten teacher, “Miss Brooks,” shamed me in front of the whole class. I innocently...
by Nancy | May 1, 2024
When I was in high school, this was a burning question having sexual implications. Nice girls were virgins. Good girls were not. Now that we’re (hopefully) past considering the significance of someone’s virginity, there’s a whole new world about...
by Nancy | Apr 24, 2024
Family secrets can create a strong bond, or they can be divisive. Either way, they’re powerful. And for some reason, they are almost always significant. Affairs, abuse, addiction, mental illness, and even arrests are giant secrets that family members can be...
by Nancy | Apr 17, 2024
Those of you who’ve known me for a while might recall that I have reinvented myself several times. After the death of both my parents and my husband in a 20-month time span, I reinvented myself on a massive scale. No longer a daughter or a wife, for the first...
