Search Results for: marriage

How to Prevent Marriage Issues Caused By Home Renovation

Doing your own home renovations can be stressful enough to cause issues in a solid marriage. It's possible to avoid this if you follow a few tips and you will be glad to get both an improved home and a tighter bond. Have a look at five ways in which you can do home renovations and prevent marriage issues successfully. Find the Line of Best Fit Working on a home renovation with a family calls for a lot of compromises. A whole room may become un-occupiable for a certain length of time, for instance. This will mean that some members of the family won't have access to the privacy or comforts they're used to having, at least for a while. For this reason, it's advisable to find the best way to work around this by sharing a room or not taking part in activities like crafting or working on a … [Read more...]

Book Review- The 50 Fridays Marriage Challenge

*Disclaimer:  TMC was not paid for this post.  Products are for review purposes only.  Opinions are TMC's only.                      I've discussed in the past how hard marriage can be.  Actual functioning relationships that grow, stay out of stagnation and flourish are almost like jobs.  You have to work at that every day.  H and I celebrated our twelve-year wedding anniversary yesterday.  While it was the first time we didn't have big plans but we did manage to find time together during our kids church event because it was important that we take time out to communicate after what had been a long week with us apart more often than normal.  It is so important to take time away from all the busy parts of … [Read more...]

The Marathon of Marriage

Two years ago this month I wrote about the state of my marriage with the post, 'Words'.  Then 'Words Opened Doors', literally.  A tense week before Christmas H and I decided that while we weren't speaking to each other except in front of the kids we would stay together for the holiday and go from there.  A few weeks later marriage counseling began and we had hope.  We hoped to work out our differences to stop that fights that had vicious moments where we screamed at the top of our lungs, "I HATE YOU!"  so violently that it left me exhausted. Yes, that was me and I did. A lot.  I hated him and what we had become.  The feeling was mutual.  We had become stunted, afraid to speak our true thoughts and realize that things had changed. Months of counseling went by, individually and together … [Read more...]

Huzzah! Marriage Counseling for Everyone!

OK.  So I'm not giving away free counseling sessions or anything like that.  But I realized yesterday that frequently people ask me, "How is marriage counseling going these days?"  Yes, people do really ask me this. My most common reply is this, "You know, no one ever teaches you how to be married.  It's going really well. I don't know why more people don't do it." It's true.  They say that what you see from your parents relationship imprints itself on you as the model for how relationships and/or marriage should be.  However, that is a faulty template.  You were a child not seeing the whole picture of that relationship.  Almost as if you were the Titanic seeing only the tip of the iceberg and not what was lying just below the surface.  As a child you were immature and could not process … [Read more...]

Marriage Can Be Fucking Hard- Part II

H asked me this question recently, "Does it always have to be this hard?  Will it ever get easier?"  I took him to mean our life as a whole and hopefully not just our marriage or parenting because man, once you put those two together it is just downright exhausting.  They say the Army is the toughest job you will ever love but the dude who made up that slogan was clearly single and childless.I believe it will get easier but not for a long time.  When you are an overachieving couple who travel for work and you throw three kids under five into the mix and a dog that loves to just drop "nuggets" all willy nilly onto the floor whenever she feels like it, life is not just a bit busy it is downright spastic.  Coordinating a family schedule is like creating strategic war … [Read more...]

My Marriage the Infomercial

This whole marriage counseling thing is like a giant ball of string. You pull one piece and the ball gets to unraveling and suddenly I feel as if our relationship has turned into a cheesy infomercial.Look at this mess!  It needs help!  Get counseling!  One dose of counseling will start working with super soaking power packed action!  You'll talk more! Be more honest!  Get heartfelt and say all those things you never thought you would share with anyone!Feeling angry and confused?  We've got that too!  Just throw in some anger management and we've got you covered!But wait! There's more!  Have intimacy issues?  Why not try this style of counseling for better connection. For just one additional session you too can have the closeness you crave.Sigh.I … [Read more...]

Marriage Can Be Fucking Hard

I went for a run the other day and before I was even a block away from my house I coughed up some tears.  My face crumpled, tears flowed and emotion vomited out of me right on the street in from of my house.  I was powerless to squelch it no matter how many times I tried to resume running and stifle the sobs.  I wanted to find a bench and sit with my knees to my chest and just let it all out.Instead I sucked in a few deep breaths, cranked up some Isaac Hayes on my iPod and started pounding the pavement hard and fast.  I blocked out all thoughts with the sounds of music. Hayes progressed into Steel Dragon (Heh) and then into Depeche Mode and I found myself running even faster.  I was yelling without even realizing it. I am quite sure I looked like a total nut … [Read more...]

Love & Marriage

According to H/Mogul you don't need love to be married. Well, yeah. But, it does help. I'm not in total agreement with him on this one. I know that some people have arranged marriages and they work, usually because love grows from that. I think he's trying to say that respect has to come into play pretty seriously and mutual likes and dislikes. Maybe I have him wrong though. I could. I've only had one cup of coffee this morning. Things brings me to another issue though entirely that I've been bumping up against lately. The marriage/baby snafu I will call it. Because it is. It's chaos and disruption and a continued one. I know I know- that is all very normal. But, see I've just come to the realization that I honestly thought that H/Mogul and I might be immune to that. We have a … [Read more...]

Tips for Emotionally Preparing your Child for your Divorce

Divorce is not something that anyone would choose to experience. People often go through various emotional stages of divorce, which can be challenging to navigate. This process is even more profoundly felt by children, who may struggle to comprehend why it's happening and cope with their own emotions. To support your child through this difficult time, it's crucial to implement effective parenting strategies for children during divorce. By understanding and employing these strategies, you can help prepare your child for the changes ahead, ensuring that the experience doesn't take a toll on them. Avoid Arguing and Fighting in Front of Them Children never enjoy being in the middle of a conflict. In fact, no one does. For this reason, do your best to keep all contact and communication with … [Read more...]

Tips for Enhancing Your Home’s Curb Appeal

Could your house benefit from some added curb appeal? The facade of your home is like the cover of the magazine, paving the way for what's inside. Enhancing curb appeal is typically an easy and inexpensive method to make your property look prettier and increase its value, whether you're looking to sell or you want to make some modifications for your own comfort. Take a look at these easy, low-cost curb appeal changes you can make this summer. Hang Lights According to a LightStream survey in 2018, outdoor area enhancements are the most popular home improvement. So, think about outdoor lighting, as well-installed lights can enhance your home's curb appeal. The appropriate choice of outdoor lighting fixtures draws attention to architecture while also highlighting vegetation, making for a … [Read more...]