Sadness can strike at the most unexpected times when you are a single mom. With Father’s Day right around the corner, the news of a Father-Daughter Dance or a church outing for dads and kids is enough to push you right over the edge into tears. I know. I've been there. In fact, it can still feel like I've been punched in the gut when I know an event is occurring that my children cannot participate in because they do not have a father who lives locally. For moms with kids but no dad in the picture, emotional pain can strike at any time. Couples and two-parent families are all around us, and we can experience the loss of the family unit over and over again. Often times, the pain that we feel as mothers, knowing that our child cannot participate in something because they do not have a father present, is worse than even the pain and loss the child experiences. It’s a good thing that I've discovered a way to combat these negative emotions. Advice for Single Moms Have a Plan. 1. … [Read more...]
Carrying Christmas into 2012
By now the stockings have been un-hung, the decorations packed away except for perhaps a stray snowman here and there. Thoughts go from cookies to calories from gifts to goals. It's easy to get into a post holiday slump--especially if Christmas didn't go quite as planned. Perhaps your spouse was grumpy, your children decided that they'd rather play with a plastic straw then their plethora of new toys, or maybe you ended up with everything that you didn't want and nothing that you did. Maybe everyone caught a stomach bug and no one could eat any of the feast you worked so hard over. Maybe this was the first Christmas you celebrated after losing a loved one. Christmas is so hyped up in this day and age that if you ended up with a less than perfect day you might go away feeling a little cheated. It's easy to get into a funk that carries into the New Year. I've found that even on December 26th it's important to keep all the *true* aspects of Christmas in mind--so that you can keep … [Read more...]
Pursue Your Life With Courage
Life is short even when it’s long. I’m thirty-nine years old and truthfully I feel younger than I did in my twenties. However, when I look in the mirror I’m reminded by a few gray strands of hair that I’m no spring chicken. I embrace my years and look forward to growing older, but, I can’t help to marvel at how quickly the years have flown by in a wink of an eye. It makes me think about the next thirty nine years and how I want to live them. Unfortunately, looking back I can admit that I haven’t always used my time, energy and gifts wisely. Maybe it was youth, fear of disappointment, procrastination, or just taking for granted there will always be more time to pursue my purpose. I realize time isn’t promised to anyone. Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed. Beyond that life has a tendency of throwing us curve balls that can alter our entire reality. Too often we allow fear to discourage us from fulfilling our dreams. Risks are scary, failure is scary, but what’s scarier is when we don’t pursue … [Read more...]
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