Have you ever had a situation where one of your kids. your spouse or your co-worker was telling you something very important and you tuned out, only to find yourself in an awkward moment when they had finished talking and were waiting for your response? Have you ever had an argument with someone that was… Continue reading 4 Techniques to becoming a better listener
Category: Marriage
Spending time with Adult Children
It started with Arturo and I wanting to visit our son in Seattle. I looked at airline prices and saw a good deal. Would any of our kids like to go too? I sent out a quick text. “Dad and I are going to Seattle to visit Miguel for such and such dates. We found… Continue reading Spending time with Adult Children
How do we overcome the holiday pressure and enjoy?
No matter how much you may want to enjoy the holidays, there are a lot of things that get in the way. You may have to work a lot of hours, giving you little time to shop and spend time with loved ones. Gift buying may be a strain on your budget. You may have… Continue reading How do we overcome the holiday pressure and enjoy?
Solving Family Problems (Pt 3)
For the last two weeks I’ve been writing about how to solve family problems. The first week I shared the importance of identifying the problem and understanding that problems are a part of life. The second week I wrote about collaborating and finding the right people to collaborate with. Today we bring it all together with… Continue reading Solving Family Problems (Pt 3)
Solving Family Problems pt 2: Collaboration
Last week I shared about the fact that we all experience family problems at some point in our lives. Whether it’s with our parents, our kids, our spouse, our siblings, family problems are inevitable. The first step in any family problem is realizing that we have one and I shared three things to remember about… Continue reading Solving Family Problems pt 2: Collaboration
Solving Family Problems
I was in the kitchen, waiting for Arturo to get home. I was tired, I was frustrated and I was a little short with the kids, which also made me feel guilty. While I’m thinking of a specific moment in time when my kids were all younger, this could be a snapshot of many moments… Continue reading Solving Family Problems
One thing I’ve learned about loving others…
(Last published Feb 14, 2023 There are a lot of concepts about love and a lot of forms of love. There’s romantic love, there’s fraternal love, there’s friendship love, there’s parental love, etc. But what is love and how do we love? I’m no expert, but here is ONE thing I’ve learned about loving others: … Continue reading One thing I’ve learned about loving others…
3 necessary steps for cooperation
Last week I wrote about the importance of spaeking up. Two weeks before I wrote about 4 techniques to becoming a better listener. Today we will discuss the final step, cooperating. Once both parties have had ample time to speak, to listen and to make sure both are saying and hearing the same thing, it is time… Continue reading 3 necessary steps for cooperation
The importance of Speaking up
Two weeks ago I wrote about 4 techniques to becoming a better listener. Today I would like to share 4 techniques to speaking up. First, let me say that it is always important to speak up when we think there is something wrong or when we have an opinion about something that is important to us.… Continue reading The importance of Speaking up
The Power of Words
It was Christmas morning and our whole family had just finished opening their presents. Ever since our kids were little, I had bought them each an ornament. One by one, I would pull the ornament for that year out of the bag and gave it to my daughter or son with some thoughts on what… Continue reading The Power of Words