Do you have a favourite day of the week? A favourite time of day? Fridays are a day of rituals in my life. Coffee (for me) & breakfast pastries (for the kids) from my local coffee shop. Catch up on paperwork at home. Squeeze in a yoga class or go for a walk. Browse Joanna Goddard’s fun roundup for the week. Movie night with the kids snuggled on the sofa
Margot’s alarm goes off and she press snooze just one more time… (for the fifth time). The day ahead of her is full of tasks and drudgery with no bright spot on the horizon. Slogging through the weeks has become Margot’s norm and she drags her body through the day. Her resting face has become a frown. Margot’s battery is at eight percent and declining rapidly. Molly wakes in
Do you think you’re a good driver? Of a car, bicycle, scooter, or buggy, it doesn’t matter which. I quite love driving (especially shift) and I like to think that I am a competent, conscientious motorist. I signal to switch lanes, I (mostly) obey the speed limit, I plan my route in advance, and allow people to merge. I’ve driven in many of Canada’s major cities, Los Angeles (crazy),
When’s the last time you felt playful? I’m talking about really and truly losing yourself in a great game. Maybe tennis or team sports are your thing. Maybe you play a great game of let’s pretend ‘house’ or ‘school’ with some little people in your life. Lego? Board games? We all need some playfulness in our life. My grandmother is a great example. She’s a 92-year-old, diminutive firecracker of
In the name of full transparency, I need to let you know that I have yet to parent a teen. However, I’ve earned my credibility on the front lines: My Masters Thesis explored therapy with teens and how to work with their “resistance”. (Coles notes version: teens won’t engage in new behaviors just because we want them to. It’s our job as the adult – therapist or parent – to
Yesterday at The Nook I met with a fabulous client who said to me, “I’m not sure what to worry about now”. She said it half joking. And half not. As with many jokes, there was a seed of truth, a little kernel wrapped up in a distracting joke. Karen is a gentle, soft-spoken engineer in her early 50’s. Like most engineers, Karen is very pragmatic and highly analytical.
It’s August twenty-eighth and another summer has slipped past. In my house we’ve got the back to school supplies covered and this weekend my partner will take the kids shopping for necessary back to school clothes (I hate shopping, except for Fluevogs and books). Catalogues are bombarding us with backpacks and lunch bags, flashy new shoes and pencil cases. Sending my kids back to school is not the happiest time
One more week and the kids will be back to school. I talked about ways to help them cope here. This week, I’m talking about how Mammas can ease the transition for ourselves back into the school year. It all comes down to systems. Let me fill you in on my relationship with systems; until a year ago, I had none. I am a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kinda gal. I
It creeps up on us slowly; almost imperceptibly… the sun sets earlier and rises later. Nights are cooling off and shadows are lengthening. Farmers’ markets are overflowing with abundant corn crops. It’s time for the annual Perseid meteor shower (next year I vow I’ll watch it far away from Toronto’s light pollution!). Summer here in Canada is over halfway over & the last few weeks will disappear in a blink.
“I said some really awful things, and I feel horrible about it.” “I told her the truth and I know it’s going to take a long time to regain her trust.” “It was a brutal week, we both became nasty. But the past few days have been better.” These are typical phrases that couples share at The Nook. These are the couples who make me want to simultaneously do the
