• The Power of Being Alone

    Wondering Wednesday: The Power of Being Alone. I recently had coffee with a friend who went on a month long trip and spent some of that time traveling alone. Normally an extremely social person who likes to have a friend along, she decided that this time she would do some of it on her own. She looked at landmarks, asked for help and had to trouble shoot some unforeseen problems with arrangements. She did it and feels proud (I am proud of her!) and is now more comfortable being by herself. She stretched her comfort zone to bring about personal…

  • Why Rewarding Expected Behaviour In Your Kids Is Wrong

    I was on Pinterest today. There were so many pins and boards dedicated to motivating kids to do chores. A lot of the pins involved crafts to set up punch cards or checklists for chores, and at the end the child would receive a reward. I was thinking a sticker, or a family bike ride, a movie night,  or something similar. I was wrong and when I started to read the comments I realized this quickly. Many of the parents posted “Oh this works so amazing. At the end of the list I give him $20 and he has to…

  • I Have Too Much

    I have the basics, I am happy. I have more than the basics. I am happy. Am I slightly annoyed I don’t have more than the more than basics? Sometimes. I wish my sewing machine worked. Right now I hand sew the toys and the clothes that need mending but I am happy enough to do this instead of replacing them. Do I wish I had a needle for my record player? Absolutely. Do I NEED these things? No. Once you have been deprived of the simple things, like fresh water or even the slightly more complex things, like enough…