Isn't Life Beautiful

  Growing up there has always seemed to be a fear of divorce. Whether between my parents or for my friends or other family members or for my future self, it has been something that has worried me. For a time I was seriously worried my parents would split up. There had been some challenging situations that came up in my family where my parents were experiencing more tension in their marriage. This really troubled me because I had seen some negative sides of divorce from friends that had divorced parents and other family members that had been divorced. This is a reality for many families.  Studies have shown that about two years after a couple of divorces, many of them regret it. They say that there could have been things that they worked out and that they wished they had tried to fix the marriage. Many couples at the time think that there is nothing that they can do to salvage their marriage when they come across challenges. At the moment divorce may seem like the only option t...

Parenthood is not an easy task. There can be many challenges associated with being a parent. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication. There are many bumps in the road to learning how to parent, and to make it even more difficult sometimes each child needs a different parenting style. But regardless there are certain specific needs that each child and teenager needs. These needs are defined by a man named Popkin.  The first need is the need for contact and belonging.  Each of us in this life has a need for connection whether that is physical, mental, spiritual, or emotional. Studies show that one of the worst things to be done to a person is to isolate them and leave them completely alone. This is because there is an actual need for an individual to connect with another human being, it was just the way we were created. In addition to the need for contact, we each need to feel like we belong. This could mean that we belong to someone or something. People really thrive when th...

 When I was growing up my relationship with my father was not as strong. He had a job that required a lot of time and when he would finally get home he was exhausted. There were also other factors that went into the kind of relationship I had with my dad growing up that made it challenging. It's something I look back on with some sadness and regret. What really changed my relationship with my dad was when he no longer had the job that had taken so much of his time and his energy. We suddenly had a lot more time to spend with him. That was when I really began to understand how much of an amazing man my father is. He began taking us to school and talking with us more. I was getting the chance to really get to know my dad and I was loving it. It was a hard year due to his unemployment but I would never trade that year because that is the year I understood what fatherhood was and I got to know my dad.  Fathers have a very unique role in our lives. They are often a good source of w...