I am returning to Dallas from a visit with my brother James and his wife Jeany. They live on nine acres in Los Lunas, a small town outside Albuquerque. However, their home and the acres that surround it seem worlds away from Dallas. We gather eggs from the chickens and cook them for breakfast. We […]
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Peace of the parrot and the chickens
by resolutewoman on August 16, 2022 in animals, families, peace, Uncategorized
Friends help
by resolutewoman on August 2, 2022 in families, friends, health, Uncategorized
My son Jay has COVID. I think he will be okay, but I am so tired of this pandemic—and I am a bit worried. Recently, I have complained to a couple of very good friends. Friends help! As Eeyore once said, “After all, one can’t complain. I have friends.” Friends are great—especially friends who will […]
Give someone a hug
by resolutewoman on July 30, 2022 in families, friends, love, Uncategorized
As Winnie the Pooh once said, “A hug is always the right size.”
The whole human family
by resolutewoman on May 31, 2022 in families, friends, love
“The Golden Way is to be friends with the world and to regard the whole human family as one,” Gandhi once said. I found this quote in Lisa Congdon’s book You Will Leave a Trail of Stars. –Joy
A walk in nature
by resolutewoman on April 14, 2022 in adventures, beauty, families, hope, Uncategorized
I love my walks in my neighborhood in Dallas, but I love even more walks in New Mexico. And, I’m in New Mexico visiting my brother—and we are taking walks! As John Muir once said, “In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks.” Or, she seeks, of course! –Joy
The heart of empathy
by resolutewoman on March 10, 2022 in character, families, friends, Uncategorized
What is empathy? Christopher Myers, in his introduction for Home Is Not a Country, offers one answer. “It seems to me,” he says, “that this knowledge—that you could have just as easily been any one of a hundred other people—is at the heart of empathy. It’s the realization that every person you meet, or see […]
A home is a thing to be made
by resolutewoman on March 8, 2022 in families, happiness, love
What is your home? Is it the house where you live? What if you move to a different house? Is your home the people you live with—the people you love? In the acknowledgements for her book Home Is Not a Country, Safia Elhillo thanks the global Sudanese community “for teaching me that a home is […]
Just be “nice”
by resolutewoman on March 5, 2022 in advice, families, friends, kindness
I never have liked the word “nice.” Somehow, it always seems a bit trite, but the word is packed with a lot of information. That’s why I like this quote by anonymous. “Treat everyone with kindness, even those who are rude to you, not because they are nice but because you are.” –Joy
Remember kindness
by resolutewoman on March 3, 2022 in families, friends, kindness
I sometimes have to remind myself that I can be kind to everyone. “Kindness is in our power even when fondness is not,” Henry James once said. –Joy
Endless pools of unknowability
by resolutewoman on February 5, 2022 in families, friends, marriage
In her book Oh, William!, Elizabeth Strout writes about William and Lucy, who used to be married to each other. An NPR interviewer commented, “Lucy and William knew each other very well, but they didn’t know each other as well as they thought they did. “Has you ever experienced this?” “Yes, I have,” Strout answered, […]
What’s this site about?
We wrote our book and we’re writing our blog because we were frustrated. We were frustrated with experts who try to tell people how to lose weight, raise their children and improve their marriages—and be a success—in 10 easy steps. In three weeks. In one book.
Our self-help book and blog are for grownups—for women who know that there are no easy answers to life’s complex problems—that finding solutions requires some self-knowledge and self-searching and hard work.
We want to help women discover their own answers and live with them as their guide. We want to help you and other women Help Yourself!
We write about making changes and also about many other issues important to women, including families, friends, work and food.
