In today’s world, flex time is a valuable benefit for many working moms. But while a flex-time schedule might work really well for you and your family, it might also result in frustration for your male co-workers when they can’t reach you during traditional office hours. If you’re a flex-time working mom, you might have a legitimate concern that—even though you’re getting all your work done—your co-workers aren’t viewing you as an equal colleague because they don’t always see you... Read more
This article is part of our August and September 2018 Guest Blog series. During a particular intense “sandwich generation” season (launching my daughter to college and my son to high school, helping my parents move to Atlanta, and tackling a major research deadline), I am taking this opportunity to introduce my readers to the insight of some key partners. Enjoy! A few years ago, when I was researching what made the happiest marriages so happy, one piece of advice I... Read more
It’s back-to-school season, and with the new school year kids will have the chance to get involved in a wide variety of extra-curricular activities. Sometimes it’s like pulling teeth to get kids to try (and commit to) new activities…but many teens have an over-abundance of enthusiasm for diving into a full schedule of teams, clubs, lessons, and other opportunities. I recently heard from a woman whose 8th grade son was getting involved in extra-curricular activities for the first time, finding... Read more
With everything going on these days, what with juggling an intense season in my next research project, AND helping my mom and dad after his stroke, AND getting my daughter off to college, I realize I am in dire need of advice from others who have been there before me. Especially in the mornings, since I am the furthest thing from a morning person, as my long-suffering husband can tell you. It’s hard enough for ME to get out of... Read more
Craig makes a good income, and Lindsay always sticks to their budget—but Lindsay feels like Craig is always nervous about her spending, and it makes her nuts. She doesn’t see him as a control freak in any other area except this. He checks their bank account every day to see how much Lindsay has spent on clothes, gifts for the kids, new household decorations, or whatever. Recently, she totally lost it when she found him poking through her shopping bags.... Read more
Matt and Jessie never used to fight, but there have been a lot of arguments, or almost-arguments, the last few months. Matt is on the verge of losing his job due to a restructuring at his company, and they have three kids under the age of five. So he’s tense and on edge all the time, and little irritations tend to blow up into arguments. Jessie can’t stand the kids being around that. And she hates conflict in general, so... Read more
It’s a big week. One of my closest friends and I stood next to each other during worship at church this Sunday, with tears rolling down our cheeks. Our kids were born three weeks apart… and this is the week we are moving them to college. I was fine until I realized move-in was less than one week away. Suddenly, I started realizing what that would actually mean. It wasn’t just that we wouldn’t see her running downstairs in her... Read more
Now that the new school year is upon us, I’m reminded of a woman who wrote in to ask for advice on dealing with her oldest son who was having a tough first year of high school. It involved him leaving old friends behind in middle school, trying to make new ones, figuring out what teams to try out for and navigating teachers and classes that were challenging and sometimes unfair. Thankfully, though, he was still talking to his parents... Read more
According to Deborah, her husband Marcus has an anger problem, and she doesn’t know how to handle it. They’ve always had “intense discussions,” but lately he’s been getting furious and walking away. As she tells it, they recently got into a fight on their way out of a restaurant, just because she told him that he shouldn’t have eaten so much, and he definitely shouldn’t have had dessert. He actually walked away and left her standing at the door—if she... Read more
We have all heard the funny saying that men are from Mars and women are from Venus. When it comes to processing strong emotions, this could be close to the truth! And understanding those differences will give you much better communication – especially when you need it most! Wives, when you are in a passionate situation that causes a display of emotions – let’s say you are really upset about a problem at your kids’ school and you disagree how to solve... Read more
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