by Nancy | Aug 14, 2018 | Commitment, Communication Skills, Conflict, Habit Change, Problem Solving, Stepfamilies, stepfamily strategies, Uncategorized
This is one of the most inspiring step-couple stories I know of. Although it’s long, the drama of their experience will grip you and not let you go until you get to the end… Gavin and Pamela first met in the 5th grade in 1980 and quickly became best...
by Nancy | Feb 27, 2018 | Commitment, Conflict, Habit Change, Problem Solving, Respectful Behaviors, Uncategorized
When my marriage to my late husband Jim was in jeopardy, at some level I knew that my sarcastic put-downs and yelling were not helping resolve our conflict. But it wasn’t until a great coach began to teach us some basic communication and anger management skills that...
by Nancy | Feb 13, 2018 | Appreciation, Commitment, Soul Mates, Uncategorized
Is life beginning to seem like an unending list of obligations? Is your relationship somewhere on the to-do list? When the primary relationship of your life begins to feel like an obligation, or a habit, you may get forgetful…forgetting why you love this...
by Nancy | Feb 6, 2018 | Commitment, Conflict, Habit Change, Uncategorized
Valentine’s Day is coming. Our attention is drawn to loving relationships, especially romantic ones. Everyone I’ve ever asked wants a happy, loving, intimate relationship with the love of his or her life. That dream seems to be loaded into our DNA, tattooed on our...
by Nancy | Jan 9, 2018 | Commitment, Conflict, Habit Change, Problem Solving, Uncategorized
Rather than seeing conflict as part of growing the relationship, we tend to blame the person with whom we’re in conflict. “If he wouldn’t _____, then I wouldn’t ______. If she would just _____, then we’d be happy.” Blame, not conflict, is relationship cancer. ...
by Nancy | Dec 26, 2017 | Uncategorized
There are many post-holiday traditions: the after-Christmas sales, returning items that don’t fit or don’t suit, football games, taking down the tree and house decorations, cleaning up the trash, finding a place for the unusual gift, eating the last of the goodies,...