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Showing posts from May, 2018

A new perspective in grief

Typically, the beginning of a new year has always prompted in me a fresh resolve to begin or recommit to a resolution that fell by the wayside long ago; usually a casualty of the inevitable hurly burly of life and the big beautiful mess that it so often is. The turning over of a brand new calendar page will evoke in me an optimism for the year that lies ahead. I am an optimist at heart and therefore am hopeful that a new year will be a little better. Summer has naturally been a time to take stock and plan for the year ahead.  However, this year I’ve approached things very differently. The events of the past 18 months have left on me a big heart wound. Last year was filled with so much sadness and grief, one does not simply turn the page and move on as if all that was in the past has no lasting impact on the present. While the end of a year naturally brings to a conclusion some things, feelings and emotions are a little more elusive to box up. Rather than resolving to do and be someth

Don’t be Surprised… Be Patient

  “Are you kidding me! How many times do we have to have this conversation? I thought I made it very clear when I said… I can’t believe we are still having this problem!” Does this sound like a conversation you have on a semi-regular basis with your kids? The utter frustration of having to revisit a problem you thought you successfully solved the last time. To a rational adult, kids behaviour can seem irrational, intolerable and down-right perplexing; but why are we surprised by these moments? Maybe its because we forget that they are still children. We’ve briefly begun to see them as more mature, and therefore have higher expectations of them. However, part of their behaviour is a reflection of the age and stage they are at; they’re still learning, and like all of the human race, still make mistakes and experience set-backs on a daily basis.  Or maybe it’s because we believe, that as the parent, it is wholly up to us to influence and change them. So when no change is apparent, we