The Resolute Woman

Category: families

  • Can we be too helpful?

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    Can we help we help our children make better decisions? Or, can we help our spouse achieve his goals? Yes, but sometimes we are too helpful, say Eli Finkel, a professor at Northwestern University, and Grainne Fitzsimons, a professor at Duke University, in an article “When Helping Hurts” in the May 10, 2013, issue of…

  • You have a family

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    The Burgess Boys, Elizabeth Strout’s new book, is about Jim and Bob Burgess and their sister Susan. It’s about all families and how complicated they can be. “What am I going to do, Bob? I have no family,” Jim says. “You have a family,” Bob says. “You have a wife who hates you. Kids who…

  • Warm relationships

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    What matters most? Relationships, says George Valiant. Valiant, the author of a new book Triumphs of Experience, has been director of the Grant Study for more than three decades. The study, one of the longest-running longitudinal studies of human development, has followed 268 Harvard undergraduate men since 1938. “The 75 years and $20 million expended…

  • Advice from your mother

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    We firmly believe that mothers usually give great advice, but, no matter who is giving the advice, you need to consider it and decide if it’s the best advice for you. We were reminded about the importance of avoiding blindly following advice from anyone, even your mother, recently when we heard Melinda Gates, co-chair of…

  • Aunt Ola’s doing okay at 105

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    When we heard that my husband’s Aunt Ola had been ill with pneumonia, we were concerned. When we visited her in August, Ola was still happy in her independent-living apartment, still up for two hours of conversation, still ready to walk us all the way to the door of her senior-citizen complex. However, since Ola…

  • Need some Vitamin C?

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    Even if you already have had a glass of orange juice today, you may need some Vitamin C. We heard an interview with Dr. Edward Hallowell on National Public Radio recently, and he suggested that one way we can create a little calmness in our busy lives is to get a little more Vitamin C.…

  • Domestic violence affects 1 in 4

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    One in four women will be a victim of family violence in her lifetime. My church, which is starting a Violence Intervention and Prevention program, urges you to call the Domestic Violence 24-Hour Hotline at 1-800-700-SAFE if someone you love is hurting you or if you suspect a friend or family member is suffering. Think…

  • Remember Aunt Ola?

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    resolutewoman
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    Do you remember my husband Jerry’s Aunt Ola? Last year, I wrote about her when she turned 104. Now, she’s 105! When we visited Ola at her retirement community recently, we talked nonstop for two hours. Ola asked my daughter Mary Elizabeth about her graduate school classes, and she wanted to know about our son…

  • Sometimes you need to vent

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    As some of you know, my daughter has been battling major health issues for almost a year and a half and I have been her major supporter—going with her to the numerous doctors’ appointments, cooking her meals, trying to encourage her. One day recently I just felt tired. I wasn’t sure I could go to…

  • Strong boundaries/weak boundaries

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    Joy called me and asked how I am doing and then all of a sudden I realized I was talking about how my daughter Ranna is doing. Why did I feel uneasy? Because I was not honoring the boundaries between myself and my adult daughter. Ranna was listening to my phone conversation, and she understood…