Family Matters Articles in the Laconia Daily Sun

This will be the 50th and final Family Matters column.  I am very grateful to Roger Carroll, the editor, for making this opportunity possible.  It has been a privilege to have had the opportunity to share with you each week new ideas about family relationships and to...

Integrity is the bedrock and foundation of our existence. It isn’t anything that we can hold in our hand or see. But, we can certainly feel it and experience it.  It is the core place within us where we store the definition of ourselves, the “who we are” and “who we...

As the year comes to an end, it is customary for people to be thinking about resolutions for the new year.  The dictionary would say a resolution is, “a firm decision to do or not do something…the firmness of purpose…determination.  I see it as making a promise, the...

First off, I am not sure that both those terms belong in the same sentence.  It can be difficult to talk to friends who have different political views at this time in our country, no less “loved ones” where there is an emotional and long-standing bond.   There are...

Last week, we talked about expressing our gratitude when someone gives us a gift or when they share something with us that makes us happy. This week let’s look at expectations of the giver. It really has to do with what your definition of of a “gift” is.  When I give...

Thanksgiving was last week, but I wanted to spend a moment looking at the expression “thank you.”  What was it originally intended to mean?  I think, to the pilgrims, it expressed more about gratitude, being grateful for - than anything else. It was originally a time...

Last week I challenged you to be more loving, kinder, gentler, more giving, more attentive, more willing to serve and provide, more committed to being a real partner to the most important people in your life.  So, I decided this week to provide you with a few ideas...

When are you at your best, most alive and caring? When is it that your feet barely touch the ground because you are so excited? I am sure when you think about these questions you will find that you were focused on giving, providing, serving or loving somebody else....

Fear is a killer, a stopper, a detriment to human interactions.  If you came across a bear in the woods while hiking, you would have an instantaneous experience of what “fear” is.  We can imagine that feeling; it's like an electrical shock to our system; we have a...

Today we will be continuing the adolescents’ journey towards discovering who they are, their need for limits, the balancing act for parents trying to reach agreement on decisions regarding their child’s process, and also, looking at what stage the parents’ are going...