Families and Love

Love is a serious issue and special care is needed to cultivate it and to keep it growing

Category: Communication

How to Keep a Long-Distance Relationship with Our Adult Children Close

How to Keep a Long-Distance Relationship with Our Adult Children Close       Missing my Adult Children   This post is written from the perspective of the mom of two adult sons, who are both in the 40s. They are not young adults just starting out, they are both well established men. They have been on their own since they were in their teen years. Also, dealing with adult daughters is most likely a whole different experience....

LOA: How our Words Affect Others and Ourselves

Our Words Affect Others Our words often affect others and ourselves. Many of us never stop to think about the impact we have on the people around us. They effect our family members, especially little children, our friends, co-workers, and those we love dearly. The problem is, we rarely recognize it when we use these hurtful words. Hopefully, we all spread loving, positive thoughts and words around us. However, it has been my experience that this...

Why Misunderstandings are so Damaging to Relationships

    Why Misunderstandings are so Damaging to Relationships   Why misunderstandings are so damaging to relationships is because they cause so much anxiety and stress. We feel as if we are not being heard. There is also the sense that we are not being understood. I personally come to a place where I give up and I no longer have a desire to communicate. These situations place a wedge between the people I love and myself. The need to...

What is Mature Love? Part 6

          Mature Love and how Love Manifests Itself Throughout a Lifetime of Growth   Mature love and how love manifests itself throughout a lifetime, is all about growth. It is also about the development of the love we have for ourselves and others. Mature people know that even if today is a horrible day, tomorrow can be much better. They understand that the bad patches are just as beneficial to a relationship as...

What is Mature Love? Part 5

      Mature Love Allows the Other to Grow Allowing the Other to Grow has it's Limits   Mature love allows others to grow and to have different interests from your own. Keeping your partner from growing will not make him/her, love you more. Everybody grows, your partner will change and so will you, is is part of our freedom to do so. Therefore, you must be willing to allow your partner to grow, and he must allow you the same...

What is Mature Love? Part 4

    Realistic Expectations     Mature love and how love manifests itself  throughout a lifetime has an element of having realistic expectations. When you are in a serious, adult romantic relationship, each person has to be aware of the others expectations. These expectations should be discussed, and to debate whether they are realistic or not. For example, are you aware that your partner is not there to keep you happy all...

Why Laughter is a Benefit to our Lives. Part 2

Laughter Benefits our Lives Laughter benefits our lives and laughter almost always makes me feel better. It just feels good to laugh, and it keeps me feeling good long after the laughter subsides. Perhaps due to the release of endorphins. It helps me to keep positive and relaxes me. When a conflict arises in a relationship, laughter helps everyone to lighten up. It adds joy and helps us to let go of our defenses, it’s easier then, to share...

Daughter-in-Law/Mother-in-Law Relationship. Part 2

Daughter-in-Law/Mother-in-Law Relationship. My Mother-in-Law Came From a Different Place. The daughter-in-law/ mother-in-law relationship has been a dream for me. My mother-in-law came from a different place and a different time, her ideas were different from mine, but we had to put our differences aside. This was my family, my husband, my children, my home etc. and although I respected her opinion, I was still the one in control of my own...

The Mother-in Law/Daughter-in-Law Relationship. Part 2

She is Your Daughter-in-Law, Not Your Daughter. It May Not be The Relationship we Expect it to be.     There is certainly a mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationship, however, it is not necessarily going to be relationship we expect it to be. The one significant thing I had to learn to understand, "she is not my daughter. She is my daughter-in-law, not my daughter. This is an adult woman and is her own person. Our lives have newly...

The Mother-in-Law/Daughter-in-Law Relationship” Part 1

              Mother-in-Law /Daughter-in-Law Relationship The Difference Between Conversing With My Sons and/or My Daughter-in Law. The mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationship is more familiar to me than the mother-in-law/son-in-law relationship, so I will focus on it. However, some of the same issues apply to both, it's just a bit different when it comes to women. I have been a mother-in-law since 2005, and...