There was a time when one partner brought home the proverbial bacon for the other one to fry. Now, it seems each partner is expected to deliver the bacon, analyze its nutritional value, and serve it in a healthy recipe with a French name.

Marriage used to be a partnership in survival of the species—read: nurturing and providing for a family—because that’s what life was about. Life is about much more now. Or is it? We have moved from meeting our basic needs for food and shelter at the bottom of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, only to get stuck at self-esteem.

We postpone a family and work for a promotion. We save to provide “higher” education for our kids—after giving them 12 years full of extracurricular activities. And maybe we get a second home to vacation, and work, in. We can’t seem to accomplish or acquire enough to feel good about ourselves.

Nonetheless, life is more complex. We have time for more than gathering, eating, and sleeping. And we are inundated with options. Some of us work harder, some hurry home to sit in front of the TV, some get dressed up to be entertained. Some of us fill every moment, thinking we can have it all.… More

When my baby asked me to marry him, he also asked me if I wanted a ring. Well, I knew he’d given his last fiancé a two-carat diamond (he still had the thank-you gift from the jeweler). I told him my ego wanted a bigger ring than he’d ever given anybody else, but that I didn’t want to feed my ego. No ring. Eleven years later, the man still refuses to feed my ego. And that, my dear friends, is one of the things I most love about my baby! And then there’s the fact that he does feed my soul! … More

We WILL fall down before we soar. And when we punish ourselves for it, we make it tougher to try again! Let’s encourage and praise ourselves, the way we might a baby learning to walk. And lets squeal with delight as we find our wings, knowing that they’re there, and ours to spread! … More