Tag Archives: lessons

When I was a kid I remember crossing my fingers that either my parents or Santa would bring me one of the new games or gadgets on the market that year.  Today, I think all too often many children just expect the latest and greatest.  I lost track of how many kids in our neighborhood between the ages of 5 and 10 got the new iPod touch this past Christmas.

It’s January, so I once again contributed to my usual cause and just ordered my Girl Scout cookies from a friend’s daughter.  I always try to rationalize that they are for the rest of the family and are for a very good cause, so it won’t affect my resolution to get back into shape (too much).

With all the social media sites online today, it’s so easy for consumers to share feedback on their experiences with a particular business.  But if a review is poor it can be detrimental, which is all the more reason businesses should not only make customer satisfaction their number one priority, but make sure they actually deliver on it.

I’ve never been one to create Honey-Do lists.  Until recently, I stayed home with the kids for almost 2 years while my husband worked long hours so I didn’t want to ask him to spend his weekends working as well.

But this past weekend trying to get ready for visiting family, I realized we all need lists.  After 8 days of two sick kids and getting over my own illness, I can’t describe the condition of our house.  Being in such a rush to get it cleaned up, I realized without providing guidance for the rest of the family they were more in the way than helpful, which was by no fault of their own.

The holidays tend to bring out people’s desire to be with family, especially those we don’t see very often.  But even with the best intentions to make the time together special and memorable, many times we find that too much family time brings on too much stress. 

It’s like the Clark Griswold scenario – you want the perfect family Christmas so you invite the whole family, including those relatives who don’t remember your name. But when they arrive, you immediately feel the need to retreat elsewhere and wonder what you were thinking.

Thanksgiving is the one day of the year when most of us tend to stop and appreciate the blessings we have in our lives.  For me, it’s the day I officially kick off the holiday season by getting together with family, talk about holiday plans, and have our favorite holiday movie playing in the background.

I was recently shunned by my 8-year old not once, but twice, in one day. 

The first incident was when I tried to ask him a question related to school and he asked if I was going to ask him those questions every day.  The second was that evening after leaving his weekly peer group session he attends to help him with his social anxiety and self esteem, and when I asked what they did his response was “do I have to tell you?”    

I knew my kids would eventually get a teacher that we found to be less than pleasant.  After all, my oldest is still only in 3rd grade, and I remember many of my own teachers from elementary school who were just downright mean.  So the fact that we are now dealing with this reality, I have found myself struggling a few times to keep my composure and remain diplomatic.

Whether in the workplace or in your personal life, we all run across people we need to work with that we find less than pleasant.  What makes it even more difficult to deal with these people is that in many cases you must be cordial when at times you really just want to share with them what you really think of them.

So whether it’s a colleague, a boss, or even another PTA mom you are on a project with, remember it’s not worth letting them raise your blood pressure.  Here are a few tips to help you deal with those people in a positive way:

Unfortunately we had a tragic event this past week as we lost one of my husband’s closest friends.  It was completely unexpected, and as many people feel after such an event, we are regretful.   

I think we all take for granted that our friends will always be there and rationalize that we are too busy to get together.  But after this event, I am vowing from this point on that I will make a bigger effort to spend more time with those I care about, regardless of how busy I am.

So here are my ideas on how I can put those intentions into action.  I urge you to do the following as well if you happen to fall into the “busy” trap as often as I do: