“It’s our family holiday tradition,” Betty exasperatedly explained. “We always go to the ski condo—grandparents, parents, spouses, kids, kids’ friends/partners, and great-grand kids. I can’t BELIEVE my sister isn’t coming this year. She is being so selfish! Our older family members don’t have many years...
“I do not know what to do with my employee,” Tristan breathed out an exacerbated sigh. “I’ve tried everything. It seems like he wanted more management time, so I set up an additional weekly meeting. Then he was having personal problems, so I brought in my...
“My family’s great. I’m really tight with my siblings,” Joseph shared. “That’s good to hear. Do you see them regularly?” I asked. “I visit my sister Josie every year. She has a ton of kids and grandkids, so we have a blast catching up with all of...
My first job out of college was at a program for single mothers and my responsibilities included creating life skills classes. I had no idea what that meant, but my boss gave me a curriculum about finding your “inner child” that I was supposed to...
The counselor’s chair offers me a unique perspective on people. Like a bad Hollywood movie, sometimes it feels like if only I could rearrange people’s lives everyone would find happiness. Joe was sitting in my office bemoaning his life. He was stuck in a job...
It’s not the wildflowers or the long sunny days that let me know summer is in full swing, it’s that Susie has stopped coming to counseling. Many of her complaints—dissatisfaction with her house, her family, her job, her friendships—can be “fixed” by the change in...
Susie sits sobbing talking once more about her husband. “He’s a good father and a sweet man. He’s never cheated on me; all my friends tell me I’m really lucky to be married to such an amazing man.” I sit quietly, waiting for the kernel...
A man sits in front of me exploring if he wants to leave his wife. Before he came to me he weighed the pros and cons, had an affair, re-committed to his wife, talked with friends and searched for advice on the internet. But now...
Here I was, 20 years old, volunteering in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico at an orphanage and medical clinic. It was two in the morning and I was waiting for bread to rise with a group of Mexican women. We had just gotten a large donation of...
What caught my attention was her fluffy fur hat in the midst of worn-out bathrobes, falling-down socks and shapeless winter coats. I was sitting with a group of ladies at an assisted-living facility, trying to survive the freezing cold temperatures on the smoking porch. Every...
