The idea of happiness has been explored for a long time. What is happy? How do you know if you’re happy? How does one become happy? I’ll be honest, I’m not sure there’s a definitive answer to any of those questions. Happiness is a subjective state. One person’s happiness is another’s misery. One moment in time may be full of happiness and another not so much. So, how does one decide or know if they are in fact “happy?” Here is a brief story about where and when I started my o

When I became a parent I thought I had a lot of experience with "parenting." I mean I was already an aunt to five, an auntie to about seven and for close to ten years I had done what I on occasion referred to as "clinical mommying" as a Clinical Social Worker working with children. I of course had some worries, but overall I thought I would have this parenting thing down . . . soooo, um, yeah. If you are a parent reading this you can just go ahead and have yourself a good lo

“When we are willing to stay even a moment with uncomfortable energy, we gradually learn not to fear it.” – Pema Chodron Stress is a part of life. For parents stress is a daily part of life. Some days are low stress, some days are high, but there is always some sort of something happening. It could be dealing with a diaper blow out, a fever, getting to school/work on time, having dinner ready, or refereeing the most recent fight between siblings. It could be juggling three bi