Dear Diary— Nearly every couple that comes into my office these days—or at the very least, every wife—is familiar with the concept of the five love languages (Reminder: Quality Time, Acts of Service, Words of Affirmation, Gifts, and Physical Touch). And I get it. It’s...
Dear Diary— The Pull Toward Certainty It’s one thing to practice “yes, and” in a relationship (see part 1; previous entry).It’s another thing entirely to practice it in a culture that feels like it’s constantly asking us to pick a side. What I find is that most people...
Dear Diary— If I hear “yeah, but” one more time, I might lose it. From my kids. From my husband. From friends. From couples sitting across from me in my office. There is something about that phrase that instantly tightens my chest. “Yeah, but” rarely means, I’m trying...
Dear Diary— In the context of driving, it’s important to know something about me: I am absolutely horrendous at keeping a steady speed. I’m either laying on the gas because I’m rushing through life, or I’m poking along without a care in the world. As it applies to...
Dear Diary— I have a secret I’m just coming to terms with, and it’s a little embarrassing—so you have to promise to keep it. I love romance novels. Yes, those books. The ones often dismissed as cringey, unrealistic, or a guilty pleasure best enjoyed quietly. For a...
Dear Diary— My last journal entry was July 2022, so when I suggest journaling to clients, I have to take a good hard look inside. I know it helps—but sometimes it can feel like just another task added to an already full load. I’ve clearly had an on-again, off-again...
Dear Diary- I cannot get this quote out of my head— “The intimacy of marriage, more than friendship or work, makes it hard to do two different things simultaneously: to have a solid self and to connect deeply with another person.” Mind blown! I keep seeing this...
Dear Diary- It is a unique experience to go through life as a therapist. (There were plenty of other words from the word bank to insert here. Could have been interesting, heavy, a privilege, a burden, fulfilling. I had to pick one for the sake of being concise, but...
Dear Diary- May is always crazy for us. With 3 birthdays (ok maybe 2.5 because we all know mom’s isn’t made a super big deal), baseball, and the general transition into spring (yard clean up, gear switching, etc) It’s enough to make someone crazy. It’s even crazier...
Dear Diary- The power is out for the 3rd time in recent history! And I’m about to blow my lid over it. The first was that 36-hour marathon when the house dropped to 48 degrees. The only actual causality was the fish but other contenders were my sanity, my sense of...
