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Once given, a gift is yours to use, store or dispose of as you see fit.
Carolyn Hax -
When you are stuck in a group of people who merely trade turns at talking about themselves instead of actually conversing, it could be a matter of their not really knowing how to converse as opposed to being too small-minded or excessively Facebooked.
Carolyn Hax
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There is a connection between environment and stress on both ends, with excessive clutter and excessive attention to detail both holding the power to distract us from our ability to love fully, work productively and relax effectively. So, what makes sense to me is for each of us to think this through on a few fronts: what constitutes a comfortable environment for us, how much effort we're willing to put into it relative to other priorities, and how well-matched we need our partners' preferences to be to ours.
Carolyn Hax -
Separation is where you see if it works better with the adults in two different homes.
Carolyn Hax -
We all make deals with ourselves when it comes to the difficult people in our lives.
Carolyn Hax -
When people get more frustrated by their indecision than by the situation that prompted it, clarity often follows.
Carolyn Hax -
One way to make tough decisions is to take incremental steps that don't commit you to anything yet.
Carolyn Hax -
For me, the greatest source of frustration was trying to work with a willful child when there was something else I wanted - say, to get the child to go to bed so I could have my own time. Just the promise of the time, and feeling that promise slip away, was enough to introduce a whole other element of stress into the encounter.
Carolyn Hax
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Of course the thoughts and awareness are there, but it's all incomplete and often fanciful - kids know there's something to know, and they fill in a bunch of the blanks with their imaginations if their parents haven't had the conversations and/or established themselves as sources of information. It's rare that the kids know nothing at all, and the somethings they do know are often only partially right or flat-out wrong.
Carolyn Hax -
Waiting for someone to propose to you only passes the "Really, it's tradition!" sniff test when both of you think it's the man's job to propose and both of you think that's awesome.
Carolyn Hax -
All of us assign different values to things, and not all of those values are going to line up with others'.
Carolyn Hax -
You can't make someone agree with you, not even when you're 100 percent sure you're right.
Carolyn Hax -
It's probably good for your body and brain to get moving occasionally.
Carolyn Hax -
Some people can work amid chaos or conversations, and some can't - and while there's no doubt an element of brain wiring to it, there's also the possibility of acquiring skills that improve your focus.
Carolyn Hax
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The sudden death of a partner while expecting a child is so universally understood as awful that I don't think anyone with any other weight to carry is going to get to same kind of sympathy - except perhaps people who lose a child.
Carolyn Hax -
I'm sure there are people who can toggle quickly from all-in caregiving to structured socializing, but I can't think of any offhand.
Carolyn Hax -
Awkwardness is when there's a risk of a perception gap between what you mean and what you appear to mean.
Carolyn Hax -
No matter what else comes, your courage will be your companion for life.
Carolyn Hax -
There's nothing like a good family when you're really up a tree.
Carolyn Hax -
It's okay to forgive yourself immediately and for good.
Carolyn Hax