Author Archives: Kori Rodley Irons

About Kori Rodley Irons

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Minimizing “Constant Drama”

I can honestly say that I am not really the “drama queen” type. That does not mean that I do not have plenty of drama in my life, however. With one child (of three) and a friend or two who cling to the constant chaos and drama state, I definitely have to cope and deal with it. As a single parent, my life can be naturally dramatic enough without the dramatic energy that these people can bring into my world so I have learned a few coping skills to keep their drama from getting all over me. I have one … Continue reading →

Cancellations and Backing Out

We all have to change plans sometimes. There are always going to be unpredictable things that pop up or the unexpected challenges that arise and force us to cancel or back out of plans or an agreement. Remembering this can help us to be understanding when a customer or client has to cancel or back out, but I also think we need to try to keep thing professional and keep the cancellations and changed plans to a minimum. If you have a customer or client who is ALWAYS cancelling or changing plans with you, this should be a big red … Continue reading →

Illness and Death in the Extended Family, Part Three—Take Care of Yourself Too

When there is a serious or terminal illness or death in the extended family, it is common for us parents to take care of everyone EXCEPT ourselves. We focus on helping our children cope and may need to take care of all sorts of other details and support as well. As I write about how illness and death in the extended family can affect the household and family, I think it is important to remind us all to take care of ourselves too. The last person on our list of who to look after may be ourselves but the truth … Continue reading →

Preparation and Stocking Up—From a Single Parent’s Point of View

In my years as a single parent, there are a few strategies that I have found quite beneficial—not only do they make my life a little easier, but they give me peace of mind and just make good sense. Wherever possible, I try to make sure that I do not run out of important things. This can be challenging when a person has limited storage space (I live in a townhouse and do not have a pantry, garage, or abundant storage) and when a single parent leads a busy, active life. If there was ever anyone who needed to be … Continue reading →

Stocking up on Office Supplies

When people think of “stocking up” during time of economic uncertainty, they often think in terms of food and basic household staples. If you are into preparing for the future or getting good prices by buying things in bulk, you might consider applying the same strategy to your home business. Recently, I purchased several ink cartridges for my computer printer. I decided to stock up and purchase a few of each color so that I could get a discount and would have a goodly supply. I also discovered that the shipping is cheaper overall ordering things in bulk like that. … Continue reading →

Illness and Death in the Extended Family, Part Two—Older Children and Teens

I wrote earlier today, introducing this topic of helping our children to cope with the illness and death of a family member. Many of our children have been shielded from death and it can be confusing, overwhelming and traumatic. With older children and teens, they may be expected to understand more or participate on a more personal level and there are ways we parents can help older kids learn healthy ways of coping and dealing with grief and the stress that can surround an illness and death. I have found the important thing to remember is that each of our … Continue reading →

A Death in the “Other Family”

Even though we may be separated or divorced from our child’s other parent, most of us single parents are not ever completely separated from our ex in-laws or the “other” family. After all, these people are often still involved with our children and they are part of our children’s lives even if they do not really feel like they are part of ours. When there is a death in our children’s other family, it can be challenging and confusing for us as to what our role is and how to help our children deal with the loss and grief. Our … Continue reading →

Illness and Death in the Extended Family, Part One

Death is so much a part of life, but in our society, we are often shielded from the constant ordinariness of dying. Our children, in particular, may live to be quite old before they are ever around someone who is dying or experience death in the extended family. We know longer live in tight little tribes and keep our family members around us throughout the life span. I think that this is the main reason that when there is an illness and death in the extended family, it can be disorienting and challenging for children (not to mention their parents.) … Continue reading →

Having a Training and Education Plan

We talk about how important it is to have a business plan and a budget for a home business owner, but there are other types of planning that can be extremely beneficial too. Whether you would like to return to college and get another degree, or achieve some higher level of certification; or if you would simply like to brush up on your computer software skills, having a plan for how you will continue your training and education can help you budget and organize your time to achieve your goals. I have found that there is always room for improvement … Continue reading →

Don’t Be Afraid to Ask Questions

We want our customers and clients to ask us questions so that we know how to better serve them but you may be hesitant to ask questions yourself. Unfortunately, asking questions is how we gather information, find out what we need to do and even discover what the possibilities are. Whether you need to get better service from your vendors or suppliers or are trying to meet the needs of your customers or clients, it is far better to ask pertinent questions than to try to read minds and make a mistake in your guessing. Many of us believe that … Continue reading →