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Are you an Enabler?

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Do you have a friend who is hopeless at budgeting and you’re constantly lending her ten dollars here and twenty dollars there? Do you have a spouse with an alcohol problem and you phone his or her boss to call in sick instead of making them do it themselves? Do you constantly take on extra duties each time your older teen has an assignment due instead of allowing them to feel out of control themselves? If the answer is a resounding “Yes” then you could be an enabler. So what is an enabler? An enabler is a person who recognizes … Continue reading →

Got to Love Those Tiny Little People: The Playmobil Advent Calendar

If your child is like mine, he or she probably has a lot of tiny figures – Lego, Playmobil, and an assortment of little wooden and tiny plastic toys. These little toys are actors in various imaginary creations like boats, buses, trucks, fire stations, and tree houses. In her quest for more of these little figures, my daughter also has an enabler in the house: her father. I think that he lives vicariously through her, buying horses and even an airplane. Did I mention that airplanes are really, really hard to store and tend to tip when you walk on … Continue reading →

Not the Key to a Successful Marriage

Today I saw a scary article about a lecture entitled ‘The Keys to a Successful Marriage.’ It appears that an apparently self-appointed religious leader in Melbourne has told men under Islamic law ‘they can force their wives to have sex and hit them if they’re disobedient.’ He also told them there is no such thing as ‘rape’ between a husband and wife. Given that Australia is currently engaged in running a campaign trying to curb incidences of domestic violence, it is horrifying to see a religious leader coming out and advocating something like this. In ‘The Keys to a Successful … Continue reading →

Helping Where They Are the Most Vulnerable

Our kids need our attention and help for all sorts of things. Sure, we need to make sure they are clothed and fed and educated and all those other basic needs, but we also need to be able to see where our children struggle the most; where they are the most vulnerable, and give them extra support, encouragement and resources around those areas. This parenting reality might be really clear if a child has an illness, allergy, or learning disability–but it really does carry over to other aspects of life as well. If a child has a hard time making … Continue reading →

Let’s Talk Interview – With the Midwife

I conducted an interview with Eileen Denomme, a local homebirth midwife, to get an idea of what midwifery is all about. Here is what she had to say: Me: What led you to midwifery? Eileen: I think it was a combination of having 4 children born at home, and noticing the huge contrast between those and the hospital births my friends and family members were having. Eventually, people were asking me to attend their home births, and after 3 years of observing the senior midwife’s role during prenatals and home births, putting in my college studies and reading midwifery text … Continue reading →

4 Tips for Overcoming Financial Stress in Marriage

Arguments over money and how money is managed may seem inevitable in any relationship. After all, it’s hard enough to make the right financial choices without taking into account someone else’s feelings and ideas. It can be even more difficult when you are both coming from different financial angles and pasts. So if your styles of dealing with money are different, here are 4 tips for overcoming financial stress in marriage. Be frank in discussing how you and your families handled money and how it went when you were growing up. It’s important for both of you to understand where … Continue reading →