Ron was a stay-at-home dad until his daughter was eighteen months old. He’d finished his year as an OB-GYN Resident, he’d saved some money, and he chose to stay home with her rather than take a job immediately. This was before the Internet or cell […]
Bedtime Affirmations
When I was pregnant with my first son, I read about a technique called “bedtime affirmations.” I fell in love with the concept and began doing them immediately, even before he was born. And I’ve been doing them ever since. I began when each of […]
15 Keys For Loving And Being Loved
In every interaction, whether we’re creating a special dinner or starting an argument, we’re searching for an opportunity to share love. Whether we love ourselves affects everything else in life, including our relationships, career, finances and health. Loving ourselves means not holding someone else responsible […]
Why Romance Phase Doesn’t Last
During romance phase, life is perfect for everyone. We’re on our best behavior, because we want to impress each other. We begin the relationship thinking, “It makes me feel so good when you adore and appreciate me. So I’m going to show you only my […]
Gifting And Getting Feedback
I was sitting in our yard one day when my seven-year-old son came out of the house and sat beside me. I kept looking at his face, thinking something looked different. Then I realized he’d shaved off his eyebrows. And I was really at a […]
We’re All Up-Lifters
One Valentine’s Day, Ron was scheduled for a management training in our town in the Netherlands. I knew the building where he’d be training. And I even knew the meeting room, on the second floor with big windows overlooking the street. So I biked into […]
What Other People Think Of Us Is Their Business
One evening, Ron and I were having dinner with friends in Amsterdam. And we were sharing extraordinary experiences from our years at university. I described the time that my dorm-mates and I borrowed a car, cut classes and drove 500 miles through the night to […]
5 Steps To Take If Your Ex Is Limiting Access To Your Child
There are two situations close to me where a parent is limiting the other parent’s access to a child. One set of parents is American, and the other is European – so it happens everywhere. In both instances, the parents doing the limiting are the mothers. But […]
What Do A Priest, An Imam And A Butcher Have In Common?
Ron and I live less than a mile from a mosque and several Arab-owned shops in the Netherlands, including our butcher who is originally from Morocco. His store is similar to a community center, bustling with friendly internationalism, with chants playing as background music for the […]
Prosperity Is Not How Expensive Our Zip Code Is
What we believe about our deservability, and what we tell ourselves about what we have, has a bigger effect on our prosperity than how much we have. Prosperity is not a matter of how much money we have or how many possessions we own. Many […]
Why Worrying Doesn’t Work
When my son was five, he received a set of Worry Dolls as a present. He decided to keep the tiny decorative box and throw away the dolls so he would have no worries. Worrying is the most practiced form of meditation in the world […]
How Many People Does It Take To Make A Marriage?
Our daughter-in-law earned a postgraduate placement in a dietician internship, and everyone was thrilled for her. But we wondered how she and my son would manage the care of their newborn son if she quit work and went back to school. So we rallied around […]
Grace de Rond 