We are deep into the summer, and I am hearing from many of you that things are starting to get overwhelming. Whether you are at home with the kids or still going off to work, there is something about the summer with it’s organized chaos (or hopefully organized) that brings on another layer of added stress. I know you may be spending more quality time as a family and going off to visit family, and hopefully somewhere in there you have left some time for rest. Being on vacation and taking part in family activities and time with your relatives…
Summer an impending disaster or opportunity?
How was your weekend? Did you get a chance to rest, connect or was it crazy and hectic? I often feel like when I look at the way I spend my time off it is a reflection of the way I am living my life and the interaction I am having with the world around me. It all gets magnified. As everyone here in the US was celebrating Memorial Day weekend, I (together with the rest of the Jewish world) was celebrating the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, this holiday celebrates Moses coming down from the mountain with the 10 commandments….
Turns out I am a drama queen
Do you live in the drama? Does your daughter? I never thought I did. While my life has been full of events that some would call dramatic, from physical injury. Technical mishaps to loosing loved ones, I never saw these as dramatic. To me they were just what was happening, they happened, I dealt with it and moved on. In fact, when they did happen, I would do all I could to play it down as “not a big deal” and if I could I would simply disappear because I did not want the spotlight shone on me. Over the…
It’s Not the End of the World….
I was working with one of my clients recently, helping her think about ways to support her younger daughter who is just entering puberty. One idea was to enlist the help of her older teen sister. As we were talking strategy and ideas, my client asked if we could use the same kind of approach when it came to academics. This started a great conversation about what is really important in school – is it that her daughter gets good grades, is it that she excels, and to what end? She was clear that for her, the most important thing…
We Have Serious Girl Problems
A few days ago, I got a call from one of my 12 year old clients, who we will call Debbie, that started with “We have serious girl problems!”. I was not sure what to expect, but soon it became clear. She had gotten her period a few months back, and was still trying to deal with this new part of her life. As can happen with young girls, she was getting her period on a cycle of every two and half to three weeks. This was overwhelming, to say the least, for a girl on the verge of womanhood….