In the fairy tale, Cinderella, the glass slipper was symbolic of a woman finding her Prince Charming who would cherish her forever, treat her like a princess, and support her in style. The glass slipper, since it didn’t fit on any other woman’s foot except Cinderella’s, was also symbolic of a woman who was so delicate and in need of protection, that this tiny glass slipper would only fit on her foot. This was the way many men looked at …
In the business world, if you want to find out what people think of you, it’s usually done in the form of performance evaluations by your supervisor. These scheduled evaluations usually center on your work, although it often focuses on your attitude. If you are being evaluated by someone who doesn’t like you or is envious of you, these evaluations are useless, but if they’re done by people who like you and who use them to help you and the …
Most couples are either afraid to ask each other the hard questions before marriage or, they think that because they love each other so much, everything will work itself out once they’re married. But they couldn’t be more wrong. After the marriage vows are said, if there are major disagreements about the important issues, it could then become stumbling blocks to the relationship. Take the issue of finances. Wouldn’t you like to know if your intended has a lot of …
I used to tell clients not to rush into a new relationship immediately after ending an old relationship. My thoughts were that people need time to heal and to figure out what went wrong. I’ve always thought that it takes time to understand the dynamics of the one you’ve just left so that you don’t make the same mistakes the next time. Over the years, I have seen the positive and negative effects of rebound relationships and they are heavily …
A number of years ago, I heard the term “starter wife.” The definition was “The woman you meet and marry while at university or in training who helps put you through school, has your children, and runs your home and contributes financially while your career is being established, and then when you have made it career-wise, you ditch her for a younger, fresher version who coos over you and worships you.” While the terminology was newer, the concept certainly wasn’t. …
Anyone who has ever been in a relationship knows that there comes a time when you have to make a clear decision, whether to stay or to leave. And having that “talk” will probably be the deciding factor. With rare exceptions, one person is usually more committed to the relationship than the other person, and that’s what makes having the discussion so scary. If you are in your teens or twenties, you don’t feel the pressure of defining your relationship, …
Have you ever lived with someone outside of marriage? In America, there has always been a stigma attached to children born out of wedlock, whereas in Europe, it has always been an accepted practice. We seem to place so much value on the institution of marriage but we don’t look too closely at what happens to a couple between “I do” and “I don’t.” Women used to think they were settled for life if they could get married and start …
Can you imagine seeing your sex life documented on a spreadsheet? How would you react to seeing a record kept by your spouse that you had turned him down twenty-seven times over the last couple of months, only allowing him in your bed three times? Apparently, a frustrated 26-year-old man felt he had no other recourse than to communicate his dissatisfaction with his sex life than to document how many times his wife turned him down for sex over a …
Did you ever do something really stupid and not even realize how stupid it was, especially with a whole community watching you? Well, that’s what a 27-year-old pregnant woman did the other day but I don’t know if she expected everyone in her small community to find out in such a public way. The co-owner of a boutique was just returning to the store when he saw a woman leaving it in a hurry with an armload of clothing and …
Let’s, for a moment, imagine you met an untimely death and you were watching the people who had come to your funeral to pay their respects. You look around and you spot Aunt Flossie and Uncle Henry. They never really liked you any more than you liked them so why are they here? Oh, probably to see and be seen, a sense of obligation. They wouldn’t want anyone to think poorly of them if they didn’t trot out their black …