December 3, 2007

The Blessing of Grief

My family is a stoic one. I don’t think I ever saw a tear or heard even a sniffle. It’s taken years, but I’ve broken out of that pattern somewhat. That said, other than the immense emotions I expressed during the breakup of my family at the end of my first marriage, I’ve been fairly reserved.
Not so yesterday. Yesterday, our wonderful, but elderly dog died. She was perfectly energetic the day before, so I wasn’t ready for her quick descent into frailty. I had noticed signs of her aging and had told myself that 13 was “getting up there.” I just didn’t know that yesterday was going to be The Day. Charlie died on Thursday, November 29.
I was fairly stoic at the vet’s crying several times, hugging and holding on to Jim who was also deeply moved by the death of our long time companion. As we were returning home, I was bereft remembering our living space as we had left it: Charlie’s bed right beside my chair, her bowl of untouched kibble with the milk bone she didn’t even lick sitting on top, the syringe and bowl of broth I hoped would sustain her in the middle of the night in our bedroom. I knew all these things would be there but our sweet girl was not going to greet us at the door.
By the time I went into our empty house, I was wailing. I just let it out and sobbed and cried as I washed and collected Charlie’s things so I didn’t encounter them in every room. Jim and I cried on each other’s shoulders for awhile, and it was also time for personal grief, to experience the sadness that each of us felt in our own way.
This catharsis was healing. I was surprised that I allowed myself to be so vocal. I had one little thought about what the neighbors might think if they heard me; then I realized they would think that something sad had happened. I didn’t need to take care of them; I needed to take care of me.
I have always admired people who could express sadness freely and openly. After experiencing it so cleanly yesterday, I realize what a blessing it is. I felt so alive when my tears ended. Of course, there were more to come, but the sobbing was perfect in that moment.
Jim and I took Charlie’s body to our mountain home and buried her beside our other dogs’ bodies. That too was a blessing. Her body was in a box and I thought we’d just put the box in the ground. Jim suggested that we line the grave with pine boughs and place her body on them. At first I thought, “I can’t look at her all dead and everything,” but he was right, this was a good idea. She looked cute. Isn’t that odd to say? But she looked just as sweet as when she was alive. It was a fine thing to say goodbye to her in this way. More tears fell. And even more will fall because we speak of her often. We sense a presence that is there only in our memory. Our routines haven’t changed to accommodate her absence.  
Snow will be coming soon and in the spring her grave will not be distinguishable from those of Jesse and Bennie. Eventually the poignancy of the last day will fade, but we will always have pleasure and comfort remembering each of our dogs as they filled our lives with unconditional love. Goodbye, Sweet Charlie, I am so happy to have been honored with your presence in my life.
©2007, Jacqueline Hale

Filed under Articles by admin

Permalink • Print

November 26, 2007

Trying On Retirement

Trying On Retirement
Several weeks ago, I decided to get out of the internet marketing business. The work had possessed me. I was giving it my full time attention and getting almost zero response. After nearly a year of untangling the multitude of messages from internet marketing gurus, I was left confused, overburdened, and frustrated. I was spending money and working too many hours; and while I had created webpages, blogs, and articles, I wasn’t seeing the money. Finally, I decided that developing an internet empire wasn’t the way I wanted to spend my time.
Here’s the dilemma. Am I retiring? I’m certainly of retirement age, so maybe I am retiring. We have retirement income, so it’s feasible to retire if I stop spending money on internet marketing. I didn’t feel ready to retire, after all, I still love coaching and writing these articles. I thought I’d try on the retirement idea, and for the past month I have not done any internet marketing. I have been busy with things I really like. I made a quilt, I knitted two hats and three scarves, I peeled and prepared bushels of apples from my daughter’s tree, I read several books, and I worked on projects around the house and garden. Isn’t that what retirement is all about?
I loved all that activity, but I started to feel … what? Was it empty? Was it old? Was it purposeless? Was it all those things? Whatever it was, it didn’t feel great because I began having this heavy sense of missing the boat. Where’s the meaning in life if I have gifts to give and don’t give them? Quilts and scarves and apple pies are fine gifts, but I’m not done giving what has heart and meaning for me. As I’ve sat with that feeling and the question about definition of heart and meaning, I came back to one of my favorite activities – being with people who are sitting around the table sharing their stories and their troubles with people who have time and the inclination to listen and support. That often happens when friends and acquaintances join us at our house in the mountains. It also happens when people get together to work on a project.
Having thought that thought, I came up with this plan: to coach whatever clients come my way, to write articles, and to hold monthly retreats at our house in the mountains. I’ve done retreats there before, but they were structured as workshops. What I have in mind is more rejuvenation and less personal work. What I have in mind is low key, only three or four people. We might spend an hour each talking about what’s working and what needs help in our lives with a little brainstorming. The rest of the time we can go for walks or hikes in glorious Yosemite, or sit by the fire and read or whatever makes us feel better about life at the end of the weekend. I think it’s a good idea and I’m coming out of retirement to try it out!
Ah, six weeks of retirement. That was perfect. I think some people would have called it a sabbatical, but since I’m self-employed, that term didn’t occur to me until just now when I typed it. Let me know if the retreat idea appeals to you. Even if you can’t come to California to attend, it would be great to hear your thoughts on the idea.
©2007, Jacqueline Hale

Filed under Articles by admin

Permalink • Print

November 7, 2007

Happiness Improves Your Health

Isn’t that fun? Be happy, have better health. I got this idea straight from Dr. Christiane Northrup, MD, who is my favorite authority on women’s health. She appeared on Oprah a few weeks ago and talked about how emotional issues affect health. She spoke eloquently on the topic of women needing to take care of themselves first! I know that sounds selfish, but the best thing you can do for your family is take care of you.
One of the guests on the show was angry with the world. Dr. Northrup described how this symptom reveals itself in perimenopausal women (often beginning in a woman’s mid-thirties) because they are giving everything they have to everyone except themselves. The doctor’s prescription was to discover five things that are fun for you and make sure that happiness has an active presence in your life.
Since cellular inflammation is inversely reciprocal to happiness, the more fun you have the better your health! Interesting. I inadvertently did an experiment on myself after watching that show. I was fascinated by what the five things would be for me. At first I couldn’t think of anything. That’s odd for me, but lately my generally rosy outlook has been a bit gloomy.
For the past few months, some interpersonal stuff within our community of friends has upset both Jim and me. I haven’t written much about my frustration and anger because some in this close-knit community read my articles. However, the unrest has taken its toll with me. I’ve been grumpy, I’ve not been sleeping well , and I’ve been making less than wonderful choices about food and drink, which has added an unwanted 10 pounds to my already overweight body. Most important, I’ve felt spiritually disconnected and unwell.
Yesterday, I took Dr. Northrup’s suggestion to heart – thankfully, I could still recognize a good idea when it showed up. I started exploring the corners of my heart where pleasure hangs out. The first thing I came up with was dogs. Oh yes, dogs make me happy. Just thinking about dogs gave me hope. Over the next few hours I completed my list of five:
1.       Dogs, especially big dogs
2.       Snow, walking in it, playing in it, even shoveling it
3.       Writing about almost anything
4.       Buying and preparing food
5.       Nature, particularly trees and moving water
Perusing my list continued while I slept. I dreamed of walking Charlie in the snow. I’ve often noted that I like snow so much that even rain makes me happy because if it’s raining here in Berkeley, it’s likely to be snowing in the mountains. This is why our house in the mountains is so important to me – it fulfills all five of these categories in one place.
I awoke this morning more refreshed than I’ve been for months. I can almost feel my cells giving a big sigh of relief. Maybe those sighs are blowing out the flame of inflammation!
© 2007, Jacqueline Hale

Filed under Articles by admin

Permalink • Print

November 1, 2007

Natural Genius

Did you know you are a genius? You are, naturally. Each of us has a specialized talent for something. This reminds me of a conversation I had with a woman who was lamenting that there was nothing special about her. This 30-year-old woman told me she asked her mother if she had any special talents and her mother replied, “You’ve always been good at coloring!” She was very disappointed until I asked her if she was good at staying inside the lines or maybe even an expert at choosing colors. Those questions got her exploring her Natural Genius and she realized that she was actually fabulous at choosing colors. Thank you to the moms around the world who sometimes unwittingly give us gems!
Here’s some help to identify one of your most precious assets:
·         What is it that you do in nearly every situation?
·         What do you do whether you are paid to do it or not?
·         You do it without thinking or planning.
·         You might do it even if you are asked not to do it.
·         What do friends and family ask you to do “because you are so good at it”?
Your genius is the thing you do naturally. It might be an activity such as organizing things, or it might be knowing what is true or it might be examining chaos to discover a different solution. Take a look at that last criterion because that is often the way people identify their natural genius—other people identify it for them. If you’d like some help with this exploration, you might sign up for my email coaching program at www.yoursecretofsuccess.com/serenity_info.htm. This is a program packed full of useful exercises at a price far less than a month of in-person coaching.
The real trick about Natural Genius is to have a career that utilizes it. That way you know you’ll be very satisfied most of the time. However, be aware that you’ll be grumpy if you don’t get to do it! If your Natural Genius is doesn’t lend itself to a career opportunity, be sure that your pastimes give you a lot of room to utilize it. There’s nothing more frustrating than an unexpressed urge, and your Natural Genius is always urging you.
My Natural Genius is Creating Wholeness. When I see a bunch of things or tasks, I naturally want to organize them into a cohesive something. You might have noticed that when I write these articles, I usually take some event in my life and create a coaching lesson out of it. I’m always trying to make purpose and meaning out of what I encounter. Sometimes this drives my husband and daughters crazy because they might rather have their lives in some disarray and not have me suggest some organizational thing that creates what I think is cool. Actually, as a coach I have to suppress this instinct a bit because coaches don’t tell their clients what to do. But I am totally grateful for this gift because I can always see at least one possibility for a client and help them discover other possibilities for themselves. No dilemma ever seems hopeless.
One of my favorite reactions is when someone discovers their Natural Genius and says, “Doesn’t everyone do this?” It feels so natural that we think everyone has the same gift, when, in fact, very few people have the same Natural Genius. I’d love to have readers post their Natural Genius as a comment to this article. Thanks.
© 2007, Jacqueline Hale

Filed under Articles by admin

Permalink • Print • 1 Comment

October 12, 2007

When to Stop

Back when I was a kid, we lived on a lake where we often wrestled on a big inner tube. We’d try to stand on it, with little success or we’d play King of the Mountain. Such activities mean falling into the water—a lot. It was fun. We were kids. We had unlimited energy. Some fifty years later, energy is considerably more limited. How many times do I fall in the water before I realize that I’m just too tired to keep climbing back on that unstable surface, regardless of how much I enjoy the splashing around? When do I recognize that I’m too tired to try again?

Of course, I’m not talking about inner tubes, but possibly I am talking about playing King of the Mountain. I’m talking about the desire to accomplish something, only to experience more splashing than success. When is it sensible to stop trying? When does one simply stop? Surely when you are out of energy, you stop, but maybe it’s wise to stop sooner.

Jim and I have been facing financial reality ever since Jim retired last December. We have a good plan and the resources to live our current lifestyle until we’re 100. One hundred seems like a comfortable cushion. Basically, our plan is working – with one exception. Marketing expenses are playing havoc with our ability to live within our monthly money allotment. In a follow-up meeting with our financial planner, we recognized that if we just stopped spending money on marketing, we’d be in fat city!

Jim markets his music group and I market my coaching business. We know that you often have to spend money to make money. The question we’re asking right now is this: when do we stop marketing and just live with what we’ve got? What does stopping marketing mean in the grand scheme of things? Here are a few questions we’re asking ourselves about what we’re marketing:

  • Is it fun right now?
  • Is it likely to be fun in the future?
  • Who would be affected if I eased myself out of what I’ve been doing? How?
  • If my every dream came true about what I am marketing, would I be happier than I am now?
  • Would individuals be different? Would the world be different?
  • If I didn’t have these commitments, what might I accomplish instead?

You know, those questions are rather enlightening. I think they are good to ask about any project I engage in, whether it’s marketing my coaching business or weeding the garden. The most intriguing question for me is the last one. What might I accomplish if I put my energy somewhere else? I believe it’s always good to evaluate the direction I am going. It’s time to stop when what I’m doing isn’t what I want to be doing. It’s always good to ask.

©2007, Jacqueline Hale

Filed under Articles by admin

Permalink • Print • Comment

October 4, 2007

Celebrating a Job Well Done

Last week I finished a big project. I am the Official Guide for Women’s Issues for www.selfgrowth.com, and that distinction required me to create a new website, complete some half-finished products, and select one of my articles for wide distribution. Last week, I finished all that. You can see the fruits of my labor at www.successfulwomanslife.com and you are hereby commissioned to tell me about typos, broken links, and confusing statements – if you so desire!
The purpose of my writing today is to reveal that I did my usual. I hardly took a breath after finishing that project; I just plunged ahead with the next item in the queue. How unsatisfying! This is something I am always lecturing coaching clients about. Stop long enough to appreciate what you’ve accomplished. I remember a vague thought, “I’ve finished it.” I don’t remember thinking about acknowledging the work I completed – or myself for completing it. I didn’t even journal about my success at creating a whole new niche for my work. This project took me two months to complete, which seems like it deserves a major celebration. Then I can move on to the next project or the next step with this one.
How do you celebrate? Whether it’s completing a project or experiencing success or getting an award, what feels celebratory for you? Is it ice cream or flowers? Is it taking the afternoon off to read a good book? Is it doing something special with your honey? For me, it’s usually going out for dinner and stating that I am celebrating. Oddly enough, on Friday, Jim and I did go out for dinner, but I didn’t even think about celebrating dotting the last i or crossing the last t. We just went out for dinner and then I filled the entire weekend with non-work activities and didn’t think about the project again until I sat at the computer this morning.
I suspect I would benefit from creating some sort of celebration ritual, especially one that doesn’t require food. When I wrote earlier that I didn’t even journal, that concept just flowed out, stream-of-consciously. However, I think journaling is probably where I’d get the most benefit.
  • What do I have to celebrate?
  • What does that mean in the grand scheme of my life?
  • Are there any loose strings that I need to tie up?
  • Is there anything missing that would enhance the effectiveness of what I’ve accomplished?
  • What feels like a just reward?
Those are some good questions. They will help the scope of the project integrate into my being. I think I’ll answer them now, and then maybe I’ll go buy a big bunch of balloons.
© 2007, Jacqueline Hale

Filed under Articles by admin

Permalink • Print • Comment

September 27, 2007

Relieving Stress from the Inside Out

How do you relieve stress? Do you work out? Rethink your schedule? Grit your teeth and just do it? Meditate? Work harder? Break down? Laugh? Cry? Escape? What’s your method of relieving stress? My experience with clients and friends is that relief comes from the inside. Yes, you can get a massage and feel great—for awhile. You can run, power-lift, bicycle, do yoga, or meditate, but if you don’t change your internal perspective, you are only building levees that can break and swamp you. The tide always comes back in.
Back in the 80’s I had a fabulous job and I made a great salary, managing a small staff and teaching people how computers could help them work more efficiently and effectively. I had a position that I was proud of and my self image bordered on overly appreciative. At the same time I was struggling to match what the owners of the company wanted with what I knew my staff needed. I was angry a lot of the time; I was working harder, playing harder, and I never felt secure. I was exhausting myself. Eventually, I thought, “I can become the best Instructional Designer in the world and kill myself in the process or I can find a more peaceful way to live.” Luckily, for me and the people I interact with, I chose the latter.  Don’t think I changed my life style—I didn’t. In the years after I reset my internal compass, Jim and I put two daughters through college and built a second home in the mountains.
Twenty years later, when I talk about serenity being an inside job, I know what it took for me to become serene. It took a decision to not run in the rat race. First I changed corporations, but that was more of the same, it just had a different package. Eventually, I decided to freelance my work—that way I could work at home and avoid the corporate stewpot. I was my own boss and I called the shots. My rule was to not work more than 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. During the next 15 years I maintained my sanity while my freelance colleagues experienced monstrous schedules that left them exhausted and isolated.
How did I do that? I decided that my life was going to be quietly productive. I never had an unhappy client and I never missed an opportunity because I said, “I work 40 hours a week, no more.” My internal goal was to do my work very well and still have a life. Life and work came easily. I believe this occurred because I expected it to. My colleagues expected hard work and long hours. I expected interesting work, time to pursue other interests, great vacations, and a rewarding social life. I got what I expected, and they got lots of work, missed social events, and cancelled vacations.
The obvious point of this story is that stress relief comes from changing your attitude—then, if necessary, changing your life. How you do that may take all the creativity you can muster. It probably takes cooperation from your family and friends. I am sure that if your life is stressful, you will not find lasting relief until you decide your life must be different. Don’t cancel that appointment with your massage therapist or stop exercising. Those techniques are important relievers on your way to serenity! Do make a commitment to do whatever it takes to live with calmness and serenity while doing what you intend in the world. You can make it happen once you decide to do it.
© 2005, Jacqueline Hale

Filed under Articles by admin

Permalink • Print • Comment

September 20, 2007

Stop Being Coy and Start Sharing Your Wisdom

Isn’t it fun to bend a rule and then one day find out that you had actually created a better mousetrap rather than breaking a rule? That happened to me last week.
For years I’ve wanted to meditate but haven’t been able to clear my mind or stay centered while noticing my thoughts flitting by. I also haven’t wanted to make a sustained sound or chant a phrase. I definitely didn’t want to sit in a special posture and take an hour out of my day. I also felt like a bit of a failure. Not a big failure, just a rule-bending, less-than-perfect person who devised her own way of “meditating.” I was so not meditating that in My Serenity Is an Inside Job program, I call my non-meditation “Being Still.”
To me, the whole point is to take time out of my busy-ness to discover my Inner Wisdom. When I sit quietly, I get insights. What I’ve never said was that I also have some intention about why I am being quiet. On Mondays, my question is “What is the topic for this week’s article?”. Other days, I might focus on the next step of my current project or how to deal with someone who is a challenge or what one of my clients really needs from me.
I thought this was kind of fraudulent as a meditation technique, but since it always worked for me, I kept doing it. When I suggested being still or sitting quietly to others, I didn’t also say, “have an intention or a problem to focus on” because I was afraid that would lead into an endless maze of recurring thoughts. It doesn’t have to.
Last week, my mentor Gay Hendricks introduced his students and colleagues to Steven Sashen. Gay is a long time meditator and when he said Steven’s technique is “a completely new approach to meditation…” and it’s fast! I wanted that, so I signed up for the teleseminar. Steven started the meditation portion by suggesting we begin by identifying a nagging issue and then asking, “What’s the one thing I need to do to resolve this issue forever?” He then had a few suggestions that stilled my monkey mind from replaying all my earlier attempts to solve the problem. What appeared for me was a simple answer to my question – something new and innovative and successful! Wow!
Basically, this was my technique, in which I never felt confident enough to totally reveal to others. Here was my mentor, recommending someone who had been doing the same thing for years and I had been coy about it! What a lesson! I’ve noticed how often I let the fear of making a mistake or looking weird or being caught bending the rules run my life. As you can see, the title of this article is a message for me. Here’s my next inquiry is, “How can I share my wisdom more courageously?”
If you want to participate in Steven’s program, you can get a free sample. Here’s the link http://advancedmeditation.com/cmd.php?af=656523.
© 2007, Jacqueline Hale

Filed under Articles by admin

Permalink • Print • Comment

September 12, 2007

Imagination

“You may say I’m a dreamer” from John Lennon’s song Imagine is one of my favorite lyrics. I use my imagination every day; so do you. Imagination enables you to make a schedule or plan a vacation. It allows you to find the perfect outfit or be a safe driver. Where would you be if you couldn’t think ahead about the oncoming car turning left in front of you? Maybe you’d be in the hospital if you didn’t anticipate the possible actions of the other driver. Imagination can also make you nuts with its awfulizing! Thinking of all the things that can go wrong is using imagination at its worst! Don’t do it. You become what you think about. Imagine that!
Imagination is what you use to create the life you love. Think back to your last vacation or weekend trip. Wasn’t it your imagination that allowed you to envision where to go, whom you would go with, how long you’d stay, and what your accommodations would be like? Once you dreamed up your idea, you created a plan to get there. It’s your imagination that will help you envision a life you are passionate about, but too many of us continue with the status quo without thought to what we want or what we are doing. Mostly we dwell on what we have that we don’t want. I can’t tell you how many of my clients have said, “I don’t know what I want, but it’s not this.”
Imagining the future is a tool you can use to propel you in the direction you want to go. Every week, I ask myself about my goal. I imagine what it is, why I want it, and when I want to have it. Currently my goal is to have $1000 passive income every month and I want that to happen by January, 2008. That’s one of my imaginings—passive income.
The next thing for me to imagine is how I can get that to happen. My vision is that I will sell my ecoaching programs to people who are self starters and need minimal support. So, I have been creating a program that sends lessons each week by email. When the user sends me the requested info at the end of the lesson, I have a brief email exchange to help him or her illuminate their discoveries and planning. As I have created this program, I have imagined how it would work and how the users will respond to the emails, and how I can support them in return. I imagine what the email looks like, where I’ll sell it, and a lot of other details that I won’t bore you with.
Every week, I also ask myself what I did in service to this idea last week and where I got stalled. I create a plan for what I will do this week. I even have a place to note good ideas that aren’t related to my current goal but that I don’t want to forget. This one sheet of paper keeps me on track and helps me imagine even bigger possibilities.
If this sounds like something you would like to do, reply to this email and I will send you the one page weekly planner I have created.
See you next week with another idea I haven’t imagined yet.
©2007, Jacqueline Hale

Filed under Articles by admin

Permalink • Print • Comment

September 7, 2007

Division of Labor

Who does the keeping of your house? If you are a woman, most likely you do. Of course, if you live alone, whether male or female, you’re it, bummer! Women who share their living space with a man tend to take on most, if not all of the responsibility for caring for the house.
I’ve coached hundreds of women, and I can think of only one whose husband takes on the lion’s share of the tasks of cleaning, laundry, and shopping for and preparing food. Many women accept the responsibility for it all, and maybe even take on the yard and car maintenance, even though their work day is as long and arduous as the male’s in the household. For many women, the “job” is the care and nurture of children, which has greater responsibility and stress than many CEOs experience day-to-day. For some societal reason, the mom who stays at home is expected to keep the house—all of it! And the working mom—oh my goodness, she never gets to sleep unless her husband/partner pitches in!
How did we women end up responsible for the upkeep of the house? Probably even the cave woman got fed up with bat guano in the sleeping area long before her caveman husband even noticed it. Yup. That’s how we got ourselves into this mess. The person who cares the most does the job. That’s the default. When company is coming, I’m the one who notices the scum in the bathroom sink, so I’m the one who does the quick swipe of all the bathroom fixtures, which makes me happy and doesn’t freak out our guests.
That’s how it goes. The guy gets the car details and yard duty and the gal gets everything else. Is it fair? Maybe, maybe not. It means that meals must be planned and prepped every day. That’s a constant, sometimes burdensome, responsibility. That can be a big obligation, especially in families where eating habits are quite diverse. On the flip side, though, in snowy areas, it’s the guy who gets to wrestle with shovels and blowers and puts himself in harm’s way, heart attack-wise.
Whatever the division of labor, it is what it is. The question is this: how long has it been since the members of your household had a friendly discussion about who does what and how they feel about it? Here are some things to consider:
·         What needs to be done? Make a list, including the occasional or once-a-season tasks.
·         Who is responsible for each task? (You may find that no one is responsible which is why those old cans of paint never get recycled to the toxic dump!)
·         How does the task mistress or master feel about the task? Rate each one on a scale of 1 to 4.
o   How much do you enjoy the task?
o   How much satisfaction do you get from the completed task?
o   How much acknowledgement do you get for doing the task?
o   How much acknowledgement do you want?
·         Can you make an adjustment for the tasks that got ratings of 1 or 2? If you don’t do the task, who could or would? If no one is interested or available, can you hire someone to do it? Is there money for it? Are there personal assistants/housekeepers/gardeners etc. available in your area? How could you save or make money elsewhere to enable you to have the work done?
·         Finally, review the tasks that other members of your household are doing. Are you interested in helping out or taking on any of those tasks? Does the other person want to give it up or receive help?
This is a place where stereotypes complicate matters. For example, I actually like working in the yard. Where I grew up in the Midwest, yard work is the man’s job. The women get to plant flowers and water them, but heavy lifting is the man’s job. This isn’t the work my husband naturally gravitates to, so things get rather jungle-like in our back yard. I keep thinking, “It’s his job,” while he isn’t thinking about it at all. I actually put off doing it because my internal guidance system insists it’s the man’s job. Then when I eventually take it on, I feel irritated because I keep thinking, “It’s his job!” even though I like doing it and I love the result. At the very least, I want acknowledgement and at best, I’d love company. But, do I say anything? Have I said anything in the nearly 30 years we’ve lived here? No and no. Actually, Jim will probably be surprised when he reads this article. But there you have it; my articles often come directly from something I need to address in my own life!
Let’s go for it. Have an honest, no-blame discussion of the division of labor in your house and see whether  attitudes, if not burdens, can be lifted. I’ll do the same.
©2007, Jacqueline Hale

Filed under Articles by admin

Permalink • Print • Comment
« Previous Page • Next Page »