Happily Emma After

I grew up with a big family. I have four siblings and I am right in the middle of them. Some of my favorite times of year are when we all get together. During these times together, my oldest brother can get bossy and take the (unwanted) lead. This is typically when someone will tease, “Who are you the boss of?” Family in ear shot will usually erupt with roaring laughter. Left: "Boss of his Teddy Bear" Right: My older sister! Center: Yours truly Years and years ago, when we were all just tiny, my brother would boss my sister and me around. His directives were typically met with doe-eyed stares; we were just babes! This is when my mom would coach him on just who he was the boss of. “Alright, now. Who are you the boss of?” she would quiz. His preschooler response: “Me and my teddy bear!” This story shot to my mind when I saw the title of the article I read this week: Who Is the Boss? by Dr. Richard Miller. “It was not my brother and his teddy bear…” I thoug...

I once had a roommate come home from grocery shopping with a new plant, showing everyone in the apartment. She was so excited to get it home to add it to her (dying) collection. With forced excitement (because she was always buying new plants) we shouted our “yipees” for our new leafy roomie. “What a shame,” I thought. “It’ll die like the rest of them.” To my dismay, my roommate religiously tended to the plant. Maybe this little guy would make it. Weeks passed. Her other plants died a slow, shrivel-y death, but that little guy she brought home was still kickin’! The plant looked as good as the day she got him. A short time later, we discovered her plant to be fake. My roommate was heartbroken, left with a graveyard of empty pots and her lifeless, evergreen plant. It's all smiles and rainbows until you realize your plant is fake. This sad, although comical, story came to mind when reading about a deeper, weightier subject. In Dr. Goddard’s book, Drawing Heaven into Your...

I love getting my home “in order” for the week. One way I do this is running errands on Mondays. This is the day I get a lot of things checked off the to-do list. Turning  inecycling, paying bills, mailing off packages, and grocery shopping. I enjoy this weekly “Day of Errands.” It gets me out of the house and I’m sometimes able to squeeze in my favorite thrift store. The "focus faces" you use when working towards your goals. By the time I get through my mile-long list, plus the unloading that needs to be done, the reality of making dinner is but a fairy tale. High hopes for a delicious homemade meal dissolve. The pending result? A disappointing night of leftovers, cereal, or an expensive pizza pick-up. Funny enough, we could be setting ourselves up for this same disappointment, but in our marriages. In Dr. Gottman’s book, The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work , he talks about people who have the highest-quality marriages are those who have high expectat...

Let’s pretend we’re planning a birthday party! (For the sake of this example, my husband is the person I’m planning it for). Together we decided where it’s going to be. We’ve narrowed down what weekend we think would be best. It’s a no-brainer that there will be good food there! And don’t forget a really good dessert! The face you make when you realize your birthday party is your WORST NIGHTMARE. The day of the party arrives and Neal shows up. In attendance is all of his extended family and everyone he works with. The room is decorated with rainbows and glitter confetti! (Yay!) In a land-locked state, seafood is the only thing on the menu. But don’t forget dessert! It’s jello fluff salad! Lastly, it’s a raging party that is planned to be ALL night! Now, if Neal actually walked into a party like this, he’d probably strongly consider walking out. A party attuned to Neal’s taste would look very different. There would be a small group of Neal’s closest friends in attendance....