I love Christmas shopping (and if I’m honest, I love all shopping). I find it exciting to look for deals starting the day after Thanksgiving (who doesn't love Black Friday?) and fun to buy gifts throughout the year. My husband doesn’t start shopping until 2 weeks before Christmas and he doesn’t buy anything except for exactly what’s on people’s lists....
Do you struggle to make decisions, find yourself in dramatic or difficult relationships, or fear letting people down? Do you feel responsible for making people in your life happy? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you might be struggling with creating and maintaining boundaries. A huge component of enjoying healthy, successful relationships is our ability to understand and...
I’ll admit it…I’ve been on a romantic date with my husband, only to stop to post a photo on Instagram or Facebook about our dinner and how much I love him. And while I’m at it, let me just clear out those notifications. And go ahead and check email. Before I know it, five minutes has gone by and I’ve...
Today I thought about how proud I am of my husband for working so hard and how sweet it was that he made dinner while I worked late yesterday. Then I wondered, will I remember to tell him that this evening when I get home after a long day? Will I remember to tell him while trying to make dinner...
As a married couple, no one is as important as your spouse. But in America, once children come on the scene, spouses are quickly replaced in the priority line by children. We press pause on our soul mate, and bump them down the priority list for the next 18 years. It's of little surprise that empty nesters have one of the biggest divorce rates...
I recently asked a friend of mine when her kids started back to school. Her eyes got wide, and she eagerly replied, “Six days from now!" As soon as she said it, there was an expression of guilt that wiped across her face. I could tell…she felt guilty to be excited that her kids were returning back to school and...
It’s easy in life to get overwhelmed, overbooked, and overextended. In the midst of kids, career, extended family, never-ending laundry, bills, and mile-long to-do lists, it seems like there’s never enough time in the day to stop and just relax. If we’re not careful, it’s easy to put our marriage on autopilot, hoping that it will somehow manage to...
Our culture is filled with images, TV shows, movies, songs, and other types of media that is hypersexual. We all know, sex sells. The media creates great sexual expectations—ones that inaccurately portray real life and real sex with real people within a real relationship. And although our culture is bombarded with sex and sexual images, most people aren’t having much sex....
My husband and I have become friends with our neighbors—the husband is a retired Navy Seal. The stories he can share are like something you’d see at the movies. Unfortunately, they are all too real. It amazes me that he can have such a great outlook on life, after facing so many disturbing events. As Veteran’s Day approaches and we...
Have you bought into the myth that couples must agree on everything? If you've been married for longer than, a week, you know that perfect agreement on all things, especially politics, isn't realistic. Every couple has topics on which they just can't see eye to eye. Perhaps you and your partner are on the same party lines, but disagree on...
© 2020 · Family Therapy Associates of Jacksonville · Website developed by Dr. Tabitha Johnson