My family and I befriended an individual from our church many years ago. He was the organist of our parish for years, and when my sister began singing in the church choir, our friendship with him grew, and today I see him as a sort of grandfather figure to me – I consider him family, … More Recognizing the rarity of meaningful conversations
I would wager most of us have heard the phrase “forgive and forget” at some point or another in life. It’s a well-known expression, and one that is used by many people in all sorts of contexts. I’ve never really known how to feel about this saying. Forgiveness is one thing, and forgetting is another, … More The freedom in forgiveness
My husband and I have been together for almost 12 years, and next June, we will celebrate our fourth wedding anniversary. I met Blaine when I was 19, hence why we have been together for as long as we have, and since we were young and weren’t in any rush to get married, we dated … More Understanding the importance of healthy, clear communication in a relationship
Anyone who works in agriculture can arguably attest to the fact that there is a high probability of having to work alongside family, specifically if you’re working on a farm. Many farms are operated by a variety of family members, and my own family and our farm are no exception to this likelihood. I started … More The reality of working with family
People pleasing is something a lot of us struggle with. A surface-level glance at the notion might prompt one to think, ‘people pleasing doesn’t sound like a bad thing,’ and you wouldn’t be entirely wrong. People pleasing is absolutely beneficial to everyone, aside from the person doing the actual pleasing. I feel like a bit … More Breaking the cycle of people pleasing
This past weekend was a busy one. Friday was my cousin’s wedding; Saturday, my team had our first rugby playoff game; Sunday, I attended a bridal shower. I realize for some that this might be a very average weekend, and if that is the case, bless you and your social battery. For myself, having three … More Understanding the goodness of lifetime friendships
My grandmother taught me at a very young age to always abstain from using the word hate. She told me it is a harsh and cruel word that should not be used to describe one’s feelings toward anything, and while I do try my best to abide by her teachings, there are absolutely some things … More Two effective phrases to use when dealing with a narcissist
I think we can all say that at some point or another, we have come into contact with someone who is completely ignorant of the concept of accountability. They know everything about anything, they can do no wrong, and they’re more than happy to criticize others for their failings but balk if anyone happens to … More The importance of holding ourselves accountable
I would wager that most happy couples openly communicate with each other. Communication is a tremendous cxomponent of everyday life, and to an even further degree in the context of relationships; without it, shit can go sideways extremely quickly. With it, conflict has a much smaller window of opportunity to present itself in. It could … More The importance of communication in relationships
I would wager most people would rather avoid conflict than engage in it, generally speaking. Granted, there are instances in which there are no options aside from confronting the conflict head-on, but, if there is a possibility to dodge said turmoil, most of us would prefer the latter over the former. Personally, when I end … More Approaching conflict: sometimes, waiting is better
Many people consider Christmastime to be the highlight of their year, and, really, for understandable reasons; out of all of the holidays we collectively celebrate in a given calendar year, Christmas seems to take the cake in terms of celebrations, decorations, festivities and events compared to any other holiday or special occasion. I was chatting … More A friendly reminder you can say ‘no’ during the Holidays
I doubt I solely speak for myself when I say that whenever I hear the term ‘date night,’ my mind almost instantly conjures up an image of a ritzy restaurant, nice clothing and dollar signs. I’m not even sure what the reasoning behind this association is, aside from possible social conditioning that has subconsciously influenced … More Let’s simplify date night
I would wager that most of us have been at the receiving end of having our feelings invalidated at some point in life. While an unfortunate occurrence, it is a relatively common one, and as unpleasant as it is, it is often done without the perpetrator even realizing what they have just engaged with. The … More The danger of invalidating oter people’s feelings
I like to think of myself as a relatively pleasant person, although I will happily admit that this varies depending on the day. I try my best to be kind to others whenever possible, and as wonderful as being friendly is, it definitely has its downsides. I can’t help but suspect that people who are … More The fine line between kindness and assertion
I would not be terribly surprised to learn that some people are not familiar with the expression red flag, aside from its literal, physical meaning. When people use this term, they’re not referring to an actual flag that is red in colour; rather, they’re referring to something or someone that has done something they don’t … More What do you consider as red flags?
It seems as though evenings in which Blaine and I are able to watch a movie together without him falling asleep are becoming more and more distant as of late. I don’t mean to sound as though I am blaming him – he works long, tiring days, so it makes sense he is pooped at … More Have you seen ‘Instant Family’?
I’m not entirely sure if there are specific criteria that dictate the length of time during which a relationship is considered long-term. Personally, I figure if the relationship has exceeded a few years it can be considered long-term, but, like I said, I am unsure if there is a certain length of time to exceed … More The beauty of maturity in long-term relationships
My husband, Blaine, and I have been together for over ten years now. We will celebrate our second wedding anniversary this summer, but he and I started dating when I was 19 and he was 20, and neither of us had been in a serious, committed relationship prior to the one we forged together. We … More Relationship issues? Read this
Most of us are familiar with the ideology that because the past is, quite literally, in the past, it isn’t something we should affix a tremendous amount of our efforts or attention to. In a general sense, this mindset makes sense – what occurred in the past is done, and it cannot be changed no … More Is leaving the past in the past always a good thing?
I figure it would be fair to wager that just about each and every one of us has been at the receiving end of the exclusion equation at some point or another in life. If you haven’t, consider yourself lucky; if you have, you would likely agree with me in addressing exclusion as a rather … More Exclusion: an irksome life occurrence
I am entirely aware of how delayed I am in getting around to watching an episode from a commonly known television series titled Love is Blind, thus there is no need to remind me. To be honest, when the series first premiered and I read about it, I was rather presumptuous and deemed the show … More ‘Love is Blind’: an interesting approach to love
As I mentioned in a post a few days back, I bonked my nose rather forcefully over the weekend. I wasn’t sure if I broke it, and after waiting for a few days without tremendous improvement, I decided to go get it checked out. My nose and it’s shenanigan’s is not what this post is … More Are you self-aware?
I would argue that the vast majority of us prefer not to deal with conflict if we don’t absolutely have to. And, really, my argument is logical in its preposition; humans don’t typically crave conflict, or confrontation, hence why so many of us get rather uncomfortable when faced with either. Comfort, on the other hand, … More Comfort: are you helping, or hurting?
In the slim chance you’ve been living under a rock and missed it, today is Christmas Day. I’m not sure how you’re spending today, but I hope it is with people you love in a safe and welcoming space. I always enjoy Christmas Day, and the main reason I do is because of the traditions … More Merry Christmas
I attend church every weekend with my mom at our local parish, and I have for some time now. It has sort of become a special time of bonding between my mom and me, and seeing as we both value our faith, spirituality and time together, all-in-all, it’s a pleasant experience. An old teacher of … More Former teachers, forever friends
I have grown up and lived in my hometown my entire life, and I honestly can’t imagine anything different. To some people, that consideration sounds ludicrous; people move all of the time, and some folks don’t like living in a certain spot any longer than a few years. My family and I are the complete … More Finding unity in small communities
Honesty, while in principle should not be, is perceived as a fickle concept by a lot of folks. We know and understand that being honest is always best, even if the truth is difficult to admit or hear. Still, despite comprehending the altruistic core of honesty, many of us tend to manipulate it to suit … More Honesty: a double-edged sword
I wouldn’t consider myself a romantic person. I never really have been, and I doubt I ever will be; I have no issue whatsoever with romance, and I think romantic gestures can be incredibly sweet, but personally, I’m kind of shit at the whole romance thing. Thankfully, Blaine isn’t much of a romantic either, which … More It really is the little things
Blaine and I have a good friend, Nic, who has been asking us to join him for bowling for a while now. We did make plans a few times, only for them to fall through for a variety of reasons, so when we made the plan to finally go this past weekend, we agreed nothing … More Bowling: quite literally fun for everyone
I know I am a people pleaser, and it’s a realization I’ve carried with me for the past few years now. For the longest time, I genuinely did not understand that the way in which I was conducting daily life was in a manner that best suited those around me as opposed to myself, and … More Establishing boundaries: not as mean as you might think
ontheedgeofeverything 