Author / MaureenCampion
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Into the Marriage Votex
I love doing marriage work. It is deeply rewarding to be trusted with a couple’s most valuable resource at a time of fear and hurt. For 15 years I have studied the patterns, the stages relationships go through. I see how they get built, how they break down and how they heal. I ask people to give me months. I have to walk them slowly out of a mess that…
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A Meditation on Times of Uncertainty
In November 1980 I was 17- the last year I didn’t vote. Ronald Reagan was elected and I was devastated. The end was near. This warmonger was going to have his finger on the button. When I look back, it is easy to dismiss those fears…well because they didn’t happen. The past is nothing if not predictable. In November 2008 my sweet 4 and 6 year old kids witnessed my…
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I want my kids to feel lousy… well… kind of
Try this- read this to yourself (or out loud…interesting at work) I want my kids to feel (insert feeling) mad- sad- worried- abandoned- frightened- bored- embarrassed disappointed- insecure- foolish- guilty- lonely- ashamed- rejected- tense You ok with that? These are the feelings that we have decided are “negative” feelings… obviously these are the uncomfortable ones. The rules of the game for giving your kids emotional resilience and a deep emotional…
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I’m Done with Positive Thinking
I think I found a New Year’s intention…. it might sound weird but I am taking a radical stand against positive thinking. I am enthralled with a new book- The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking by Oliver Burkeman. I will admit that I am only on chapter 3 but I have been highlighting like mad and re-reading, looking things up in a way that hasn’t happened…
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Baby New Year is On Its Way
And we know how hard babies can be. I get that ya’ll want to tell 2016 to fuck off but have you given any thought to what 2017 means? Baby New Year is bringing some serious challenges and we’ve got some work to do. The year we’re dumping has revealed much of the dark underside of our culture. Our country is divided, people are frightened and change is not coming…
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My Last Minute Christmas Card
Thank you wonderful community for all you give me each year. You are my audience and my inspiration. I am wrapping the week up early… modeling authentic self care. Remember that those people only make you crazy because you love them. Remember you make someone crazy too. How about I share this lovely poem with you. Christmas at Midlife I am no longer waiting for a special occasion; I burn…
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Light as a feather…. you know how it goes
Wait…is it already December 15th? I have a huge to do list from last weekend I never got to because life got complicated…once again. My Google calendar reminds me every December that I love the holidays and would enjoy them more if I started preparing sooner. Every year I commit to better time management. Every year my lovely husband who has actually known me longer than Google has…says “Yeah, you…
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Making it through the dark nights
Rough week. It is so dark…and getting darker. The winter solstice is still almost 2 weeks away. December 21st we mark the longest night and the fact that they aren’t going to get any shorter. The light wins… every December… so far. While Pagan families mark this season of Yule, Christians celebrate Christmas with lights, our Jewish families celebrate Hanukkah with a menorah and African American families may choose…
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Just a bunch of divorce musings…. When is it time to leave?
(If you see yourself in this week’s newsletter, you’re right…all of you who can’t decide, who want me to tell you what to do, who are waiting for a sign, who are so unhappy that it can’t be good for anyone. This time I really am talking to you…oh but not all of you…) I went to this fantastic training sponsored by Erickson Mediation last week. http://ericksonmediation.com/resources/emi-newsletter/ I trained with…
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2016 Post Thanksgiving Commentary
Each year I sit down to write my newsletter on Thanksgiving morning before the festivities begin and set it to go out in the evening when the party’s over. Mostly I steal stuff from last years post and tweek it a bit. The best thing about holiday traditions is just how predictable they can be. The first time I took on my family’s turkey duty at my house was 1983-…
