The Plague of Lice
Our family’s Exodus story began with a plague of sorts. Michael and I had been looking forward to our trip back east with much anticipation. We both had been working very hard and couldn’t wait to get away with our kids and visit his family on the East coast. Leading up to our trip I had been working long days at a job that I love but with the death of my dad just a month earlier the idea of being away on a relaxing trip was honestly all I could think about lately. I just kept seeing us all on the airplane laughing and leaving all the stress...
read moreAre You Hard or Soft? Which Do You Share? It’s Not What You Think!
It’s Passover and as Michael, the kids and I prepare for a leaven-less week, I am taking a moment out to think about what this holiday and this season mean. Whether you celebrate Passover or Easter…or Eastover… or are simply taking time out to notice it’s spring, it’s a time of rebirth and renewal and, of course, reflection. So, I am remembering a story, a call for introspection, I once heard about Passover and the reason we eat matzah. Imagine a nice fluffy loaf of bread sitting on a table next to a piece of matzah. The bread is bouncy and...
read moreBe Selfish! Well, Sort of
Maybe it’s my radar of late, but I have been hearing A LOT of people suggesting to their friends that they “deserve to be selfish”. And the reasons for deserving range from illness, to working too hard, or your children have been driving you crazy. Here’s the thing. I think we’ve maybe forgotten what the term selfish means, or we’ve applied a different, less weighty meaning to the term, or we just don’t have a large enough lexicon for reward. Selfishness can be defined as a concern for oneself beyond the needs of others, in fact to the...
read moreThe Burden of a Narcissistic Parent
Narcissism is a frequently used term in the current socio-political climate. The truth is that most people who are successful in our world have a healthy dose of narcissism, a healthy sense of confidence and self -focus. However, these qualities do not a narcissist make. Narcissistic Personality Disorder is a serious diagnosis rooted, many theorists believe, from a developmental trauma in early childhood. The early wound prohibits a complete development of identity and creates an individual who quite literally cannot decipher their “self” from...
read moreThe Dime Toss
I am running down Grindly Street in Cypress being chased by my friend Janelle, we are 8 and it is June. As we get to the front of St. Irenues Church, we begin to hear it, the clank of the rides, and the kids screaming for joy, the delicious smell of greasy hotdogs mixed with cotton candy and salty popcorn these things seem to pull us faster as we head toward it. The IT is the annual St. I fiesta. Janelle finally catches me and pulls my shirt to slow me down. “We need to go to the Margarita Booth” I tell her as I am gasping for my breath, “My...
read moreThe Deplorable Enablers of Charlie Sheen
After watching Charlie Sheen’s latest “You Tube Show” I sit here writing horrified at the deplorable enablers of his self-destructive demise which is happening on a global scale for all of us to sadly witness. I can’t say it any more directly than this -Charlie Sheen is an a hypomanic state which is starting to slip into a psychotic state. He is both dangerous to himself and those around him. Charlie Sheen is suffering from a serious mental condition that must be treated with therapy and medication. He should have...
read more‘Dear God, Can I Please Have a Christmas Tree?’
My kid was caught in the middle of the Christmukkah debate — only the debate was within himself. We were driving down the road in my black minivan. My son was quietly sitting, staring out the window. Through my rearview mirror, I saw him shut his eyes and say it! It was said in the most innocent way that only a child could say it, but they were simply not the words I wanted to hear. He said, “Dear God: Can I please have a Christmas tree?” Oh, an arrow through my heart. He might as well have folded his cute little hands into...
read moreJohn Mayer’s “Tweachable Moment”
Can John Mayer’s insensitive comments in Playboy and his apology on Twitter help you teach a life lesson to your teens? John Mayer used the N-word in a Playboy interview. He also objectified women and pretty much just sounded like a big-time jerk in general. One particularly offensive quote reads: I come on very strong…. That’s why black people love me…. Someone asked me the other day, “What does it feel like now to have a hood pass?” And by the way, it’s sort of a contradiction in terms, because if...
read moreDual Incomes Can Mean Dueling Partners
Dr. Michelle Golland: Let’s face it: For most families, it is a necessity for both parents to be working — just to make ends meet! I see many couples in my practice who are struggling to cope with limited time and limited resources. For some of these couples, the biggest challenge is dealing with issues of power and influence when it comes to money. Getty ImagesIn most families, money is a limited resource which requires the couple to negotiate a myriad of things, from where to buy groceries (and whether to spring for organic vs....
read moreReligion Actually Makes You Happier?!
Whenever I reveal that I was raised Roman Catholic and converted to Judaism, people — whether Jewish or Catholic — often say, “Wow — you get a double dose of guilt and shame!” I believe what they mean is that the Jewish side is the guilt and the Catholic side is the shame. So according to them, you would think that I would be pretty unhappy, right? Well, in general, I’m a very happy person — and according to a 2010 study, that could be due in great part to the fact that I actually identify with a...
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