Tag Archives: teamwork

Picking up the Slack

Marriage is about working together and being there for each other. While it might be good to set up some guidelines initially about how your marriage will work and who will do what jobs, sometimes these guidelines should be only that – guidelines. At times they many need updating or changing as circumstances change. It may mean for a time one person is left carrying more of the load. This can happen when your spouse is sick or injured, as when I broke my arm, Mick was left to pick up a lot of the slack and take on jobs … Continue reading →

Secret of a Lasting Marriage

Want to know the secret of a lasting marriage? I’m guessing you do if you’re here. Sydney and Betty Cooper, an Australian couple who celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary recently had differing views about how to achieve this milestone. Sydney Cooper said, ‘the secret was more on Betty’s part than mine.’ But then he went on to add these wise words, ‘talk things over before making decisions, try a little tenderness and work as a team.’ The thing that struck Betty initially, from the time she first met Sydney, was his ‘thoughtfulness,’ and ‘courtesy. Thoughtfulness and courtesy carry over into … Continue reading →

Losing Weight as a Couple

I was reading online just now about a couple who has set the goal to lose weight together. After seven weeks, he has lost twenty-three pounds and she has lost seventeen. They’re ecstatic about their progress and plan to continue on until they’ve reached their goals. Reading their story got me to thinking, is it a good idea or a bad idea to diet along with your spouse? On the plus side, if both you and your spouse are dieting, you only have to cook one meal. You can make up that chicken breast and salad and not be staring … Continue reading →

Leapin’ Lizards! A Study in Pet Teamwork

As I touched on in My Life With Cats, I was born into a family of dog lovers. My mom’s never spent much time around cats. (Tabby and Mr. Meow have since seen to it that she’s become a non-cat convert though.) And she certainly hasn’t spent much time with both cats and dogs in one household. I’m well aware that it’s possible for cats and dogs to get along, but my mom’s still trying to understand how it is they all get along. It’s simply amazing to her that not only do Murph and the cats tolerate each other, … Continue reading →

Suspend Judgment of the Other Parent Until You Know the Facts

As you might imagine, I hear all sorts of stories and “versions” of what is going on when my kids return from a trip/visit to their dad’s house. In the early months after the final separation (there were a few before the final one) and the divorce, I used to get very hot and bothered by the things they told me. I was quick to get on the phone or on e-mail to find out just exactly what was going “wrong” over there. Eventually, I learned that I needed to give my children’s father the benefit of the doubt and … Continue reading →

There’s No Such Thing As Doing It All Alone

It is absolutely normal to feel isolated and “all alone” when it comes to our roles as single parents. After all, we don’t have a partner or spouse in the home to help us feel supported or as if we are part of a team. And, for those of us who do not have family near by or a “village” of eager and ready supporters, we may have a tendency to really feel like we are all alone as we work at being a good parent and provider, and raising our child or children. But, that isolationist thinking can actually … Continue reading →

Letting People Help

If you are anything like me, you may be getting used to going it alone when it comes to your home business. While some of us are working on building a “family” business and have spouses, children, etc. who are participating in our home-based business, others of us are pretty much running our businesses all on our own. We might actually be pretty isolated and very much a one-person-show. This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t and can’t accept some help from others here and there, however… There might be people in your world who would love to help you with … Continue reading →

A Bug’s Life (1998)

Flick the ant is an inventor. Always looking for a way to make the lives of the ants easier, he spends his free time coming up with things like a harvester so they won’t have to work so hard to get the precious grain they need. The problem, however, is that Flick is also a little bit accident prone, and his inventions tend to flop. His greatest wish in life is to impress Princess Atta, but it seems that all he can do is make a bigger fool of himself. Each year, the ants must gather an offering to the … Continue reading →

Four Tips for a Healthy Marriage

How healthy is your marriage? Despite challenges, which we all face, do you feel overall, your relationship is strong? If so, the following tips may seem elementary, although we can all use reminders from time to time. Teamwork When facing problems or challenges, it is a good idea to come up with solutions together. Even if you are the more “take charge” person in the relationship, your spouse needs to be involved in the decision making. On the other hand, it is as important for a spouse that tends to defer to the other person, to take a more active … Continue reading →

Going That Extra Mile On The Job

This topic has nothing to do with jogging or even walking swiftly. Instead, it has to do with pitching in and being a part of a team. This is an intangible soft skill, which is vital to effectively mastering any job. By doing a little bit more than that which is required of you, several things begin to happen simultaneously. For one thing, the boss will eventually notice and for another, your co-workers will as well. Barring the fact that some co-workers may try to take advantage and sluff some of their work off on you, the advantages in doing … Continue reading →