Tag Archives: friendships

Teaching Teens About Friendships

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about teenage cliques and how painful they can be. That blog was spurred by my daughter not getting invited to a birthday party. At the time I encouraged her to ask her friend about it. I really didn’t want her to assume the worst but she did. Just a couple of days ago she announced that she was no longer mad at her friend. As it turned out, she had the invitation but kept forgetting to give it to my daughter. In her world everything was fine again. It bothered me, however. One … Continue reading →

Talk to More Senior Citizens

My life does not naturally have a lot of senior citizens in it and I know that I am fairly typical. So many of us live far away from extended family and we live lives that can be incredibly homogenous in terms of age demographics–our best friends are our age or have children the same age as we do, we work with people who are generally the same age, and we tend to do activities and socialize with people who are in a similar place in life. We might be missing out on the wisdom and perspective that come with … Continue reading →

Dealing with the Friendship Stress of Middle School

To a young teen, school is life. And frankly life (school) is not always pleasant. Children can be very cruel about what they say and do. It can be also be very hard for a child to understand why they are being labeled as an outcast among their once crowd of friends. It can be even harder for the parents to deal with the child’s stress and sadness. In middle school, girls are likely to make groups and change groups often. They hold grudges and try to build themselves up by putting others down. While it is a normal part … Continue reading →

Where Does “Social Life” Rank In Your Priorities?

I admit that as a single parent, sometimes having a social life really slips down on my rank of priorities and things I have energy to put into—not always. There are other times when getting out of the house, being with friends, and even dating can feel like just what I need. But, at the end of a really long day—working the multiple jobs, taking care of house and kids and activities and errands—I don’t always feel like I have much to offer in the social department and I know I don’t have the energy to listen to one more … Continue reading →

Blossom and Boo: A Story about Best Friends – Dawn Apperley

Blossom is a cute little white rabbit, and her very best friend is Boo, a brown bear cub. Every day they meet to play together in the woods. In the summer, they like to go exploring and make each other daisy chains. They skip stones in the stream, causing splashes and ripples. In the fall, they go berry picking and have picnics. When Blossom falls down and hurts her paw, Boo is right there to make her feel better. Blossom repays him by giving him some of her berries when the mice steal his. Sure enough, Blossom and Boo are … Continue reading →

Initiating New Friendships

While married, couples typically have other married friends, which is what you would expect. However, after going through a divorce or death of a spouse, you often find yourself with few or no friends at all. Remember, the old married friends still care about you but they live a different lifestyle that makes socializing difficult. Over time, these friendships often fade, leaving you to start making new friends. For single parents, having no one close to confide in or to laugh with can be devastating, leaving a person to feel alone and isolated. Therefore, if you now find yourself a … Continue reading →

All About Me: Friendships

Friendship is a vital part of who we are. Everyone needs friends, but everyones needs from a friendship are different, just as each friendship itself is different. Some people are content having only one or two very close friends, and others need larger groups of friends. If you have two friends or you have a hundred, commemorating those friendships in your scrapbook album are extremely important. Not to mention that much like “Chicken Soup for the Soul” it does your heart good to remember what makes each friendship you have special. Several months back I created a themed album on … Continue reading →

Protect Your Friendships After Marriage

It’s a sad fact that marriage can alter friendships, but it’s important to recognize that your circle of friends are as important after you get married as they were before. When couples get married, the first few months, nigh on years can be time spent focusing intently on each other – to the exclusion of previous friendships. While most of us don’t do it deliberately, there is a line of exclusion that seems to divide us from our single and married friends. Subtle Changes The losses always begin subtly. You don’t call your friends as often. You beg off from … Continue reading →

Why Married Women Need Friends

You’ve seen them in the back of the restaurant. You’ve heard their peals of laughter. You’ve heard the group running together every morning. You’ve seen them walking side by side down the street – sometimes they are pushing strollers; sometimes they are just walking together. You’ve seen them sitting together at the park; talking and laughing. Who are they, you ask? The Female Connection Girlfriends are vital for all women. Female friendships are precious commodities for married women. Whether their girlfriends are married or single, mothers or childless, they are the people that we find our precious moments of reprieve … Continue reading →

Friendship Theme Album – My Personal Album Day One

I began making this friendship album at the start of 2005 and never actually finished it. For some reason I got frustrated with it. I decided to try to figure out what went wrong. Here we are a year later and I have been freshly inspired to finish it. I thought I’d share my ideas and changes as I go, with all of you. Hopefully this will inspire you to create an album of your own. When I originally started this album, I decided I wanted it to commemorate the friends I had made in my life. These are the … Continue reading →