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...
by Nancy | Apr 10, 2024
I have come to realize that I have a difficult time setting boundaries. As a result, sometimes I feel under-appreciated, and sometimes downright taken for granted. Why is this so hard for me? Is it because of my birth order (youngest of three)? Is it because I like to...
by Nancy | Apr 3, 2024
Sometimes when I’m conducting a divorce mediation, I think I’m a puppeteer, pulling the strings of my disagreeing clients, and trying to steer them away from any accompanying disrespect. I’m not always successful, though. I’ve heard spouses...
by Nancy | Mar 27, 2024
If you’re a member of a family, chances are you’ve participated in a family meeting. Whether you’re deciding about pizza toppings, which movie to watch, or where to go on vacation, if there’s more than one decision maker, somehow a consensus arrives. My dad used to...
by Nancy | Mar 20, 2024
In case you were wondering, the expression “it takes a village” apparently originated from an African proverb emphasizing the importance of community in raising a child. It is also the title of a book written by Hillary Clinton more than 10 years ago...
by Nancy | Mar 13, 2024
As we are becoming more and more dependent on the instant gratification of checking with Google (or Siri, or Alexa), I wonder if our own impatience can be causing harm. Raise your hand if you’ve recently found yourself doing any of the following:Interrupting...
by Nancy | Mar 6, 2024
Let’s start out with a quiz: 1. You’ve been sitting at a red light forever. It finally turns green but the driver in front of you isn’t paying attention, probably texting, and the cars in all the other lanes are proceeding through the intersection. Do...
by Nancy | Feb 28, 2024
“I don’t know what my expectations are until they’re not met.” ~ Chuck LorreI’ve been dealing with expectations lately, both my own and those of my mediation clients. When considering my personal ones, I don’t often clearly identify the...
by Nancy | Feb 21, 2024
Telling your kids that you’re getting a divorce is one of the most significant and impactful conversations you’ll ever have, so it makes sense to do the best you can. Even if you haven’t been on the same page with your spouse for ages, it’s extremely important in this...
