Perhaps you heard the advice from your mother, or a well-meaning friend. Or maybe you read a book like “The Rules” that convinced you to never call a guy first, accept a date at the last minute, or offer to pay for coffee. In other…
The Situation Many years ago, an older relative grew concerned about my limited dating history. “You are waiting for a knight in shining armour,” he admonished. It’s not like I didn’t share his concerns. I also worried that perhaps I was being too picky, and…
Let’s do a small visualization exercise. Close your eyes. When you hear someone described as “a talented emerging writer,” what do you see? I see a 20-something woman, five years out of J-school. She has subtle purple streaks in her asymmetrically-cut dark hair,…
I asked my friend, “Libby”, “Do you ever snoop on your boyfriend—like read his texts when he’s not looking?”“No,” she said emphatically. This surprised me. Libby is an incredibly nosy person. So my follow-up question was, “Have you ever snooped on a boyfriend?” “Yes,” she…
My dad died a decade ago—on the sixth day of the six month of the year ’06. Before his service, the funeral director took my two sons aside and invited them to write letters to place in his coffin. It was a way to give…
“What do you do?” I love to ask this question when I meet someone new—at parties, at the gym, at the dog park. I’m insanely curious about how people make a living, especially when their world is so different than my own. But the question,…
Are you planning your first vacation as a couple? YAY, what a great step in your relationship. There is no better way to really get to know someone than spending concentrated time together, outside of your natural habitat. Unfortunately, for too many couples, their vacation…
I just had a flashback to when Jake was in Grade 10, six years ago. He asked me to read an essay that was due within the next couple of hours. Jake was the type of student who never suffered from writer’s block. He could…
“If you’ve seen one marriage, you’ve seen one marriage.” This quote was offered by one of the participants from a round table of senior consultants, lawyers, and corporate professionals that I co-hosted in early April with Brent Wagner (BMO), and facilitated by Kitchen Table conversation…
You are watching the roving dust elephants in your living room crash into the dust bunnies. And your romantic partner is expecting you to tame them. But your growing menagerie doesn’t bother you. Life is short. Should you really be wasting your time pushing a…