Tag Archives: Tips for Moms

Would You Trade Your Life (With Someone Else)?

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Haven’t we all at one time or another said something like, “Boy, I’d sure like to trade my life for his or hers!”  Sometimes it’s about someone we know personally but often it’s about a “famous” person who we think we know.  My assertion is that when you really think about it,you wouldn’t trade your life with anyone!

There’s a caveat to this assertion, naturally, which is simply health-related and extreme poverty related.  If someone were seriously sick, especially with a debilitating illness, changing lives would be nice.  If someone were starving to death in a corrupt nation, yes changing lives would also be a good thing.  But, for the average American or citizen of a free country without extreme poverty or corruption, this idea about not switching lives may apply and at least provoke some reflection.
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There Are No Perfect Friends

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I remember that one of my mother’s many sayings, when I was growing up, related to friends and went something like, “If you want perfect friends, you won’t have any.”  This was often in response to my irritation at what a particular friend had done.  Later, more often than not, if my mom asked me if that particular thing my friend had done was resolved, I’d have forgotten what it was altogether.

As with so many things our parents say to us, their advice often goes unheeded but comes back later in life to haunt us because of their truth. We could have saved ourselves much pain and embarrassment had we paid heed originally.  My mom is probably laughing, somewhere high above, since her death two years ago, at the “fun” I’m living with thanks to my two teenagers.  As she may have said, “What goes around comes around.”
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A Jew In Church

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My wife is Christian; I’m Jewish. Since we were not going to have children together, this wasn’t much of an issue since this was a second marriage for both of us.  We did have the Christmas tree problem but resolved that amicably, by at first going to her parent’s house to celebrate Christmas with them.  When my wife got sick and we couldn’t make it that year, I relented and we brought the Christmas tree into our home.

Now we’re celebrating both Christmas and Hannukah in our home and, more recently, I’ve even attended her church (Calvary Community Church in Westlake Village, California). Imagine that, a Jew in church.

This issue, of religion in the home is a touchy one for most couples getting married, especially as they plan on having and raising children. It’s not a simple question nor is there a simple answer.  I believe it’s extremely important for a couple to discuss this, in depth, before they marry or have children if they believe and practice different faiths. read more

Radio Show – Life–Wait a Minute and It Will Change!

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First air date: Thursday, August 5, 2010

Featured guests:

Bill McLeod (singleparentstown.com) discussing his new book, “99 Tips That Every Single Parent Must Have”

Wayne Levine (BetterMen.Org) for “The Men’s Room”

Bruce Sallan rambling and doing “Teen Rap”

Julie Spira (Cyber Dating Expert) for “Single Parenting Dating”

The column referenced is,“Life–Wait a Minute and It Will Change.”
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Life–Wait a Minute! It WILL Change!

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There’s a lesson that is told in most cultures. In Canada, it’s about the weather: Wait a minute and it will change.  Or, most everywhere on the good or bad in life; “This too shall pass.”  All are so true.  Right now, our family is going through both some ups and downs.  I try to remember the latter adage during the “down” periods and not expect the “up” ones to always last.

Sticking with the clichéd sayings, there is another that is credited to Rabbi Joseph Telushkin’s mother that goes something like, “The only happy people I know are people I don’t know well.”  Think about it. When you know someone well, you usually know his or her troubles.  When you don’t, you invariably get the proverbial answer “Good” or “Terrific” to the greeting “How are you?”

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Are Second Marriages Harder?

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One might think that second marriages would be easier and succeed more often than first marriages. At least that might be a first instinctual reaction. But are second marriages harder? On reflection and upon learning the statistics, it becomes clear why second (and third, fourth, and more) marriages are actually harder.

First, let’s cite the statistics.  I don’t have a source, but I know it’s generally understood and accepted that first marriages end somewhere in the 40-50% range, while second marriages end about 66% of the time, and third and subsequent marriages fail around 75% of the time.  These are not encouraging statistics. Thankfully, when I was divorced I didn’t know those discouraging numbers.

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