Disappointment need not be a big deal if we are prepared for it. Regularly, when I work with people in therapy where the focus is on difficult memories, I ask the person to describe what they notice. I have often remarked at how hard it is for people to notice what happens. Frequently, people only…
Category: Parenting
Preparing your garden for the winter weather
On hushed November mornings the waning border is embroidered by sugar coatings of frost and seed heads are transferred into iced confections. It’s on mornings like this that you reap the rewards for changing the way you garden in the herbacious borders as most gardeners have. The old traditional way was to cut everything down…
Faith in the Family
October is the month traditionally associated with Mary and many people will make a particular effort to pray the rosary this month. Any time I talk to a group of people about faith, prayer and spirituality I am struck by how many of them have memories of praying the rosary. The same is true of…
Our bodies are like machines that grow stronger with use
Science of Life
Dad’s Diary
I’m encouraging my mother-in-law to take up motorcycling. A cynic might suspect my motives, but to be honest, I never quite got mother-in-law jokes; I’m very fond of mine, an Italian mother-in-law being the very best variety, I believe. Although well-acquainted with her zest for life, I have to say, even I was surprised by…
Faith in the family
I am involved in producing a resource for families called Seeds of Faith. You can find it on www.godfaithandfamilylife.wordpress.com The theme we have been looking at this month is baptism. Baptism is never a private matter because in Baptism we become part of a faith community and that brings challenges and responsibilities with it. If…
Dad’s Diary
There is no better way to get away than to fire up a motorcycle and to make for the horizon. My bike is normally used for the dreary purpose of commuting to work. Today, however, I would be taking it to Ireland’s Atlantic coast. I had been hankering after a deep draught of the west of…
Faith in the family
As a family we are only beginning to get back into something that resembles a routine. The summer holidays are great but routine is certainly not a feature! As our children have got older we seem to have become busier. The three girls have had summer jobs and our son has had football or hurling…
Simple tips and tricks to transform your home
The popularity of home improvement TV shows has exploded – they’ve become somewhat of a guilty pleasure of late. There is something enchanting about seeing how a room can be transformed overnight by a lick of paint and an expert’s eye. Not everyone, however, is lucky enough to have a leading architect on hand to…
It’s nearly time to start preparing for the autumn
In September your garden will start to change its palette to autumnal colours, with sultry tones of rich reds, deep oranges, golden yellows and mellow purples and blues. It’s slowing down and preparing for the big seasonal change. Keep watering and dead heading summer bedding even though they are past their best. They will flower…