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Putting yourself last?
“Sometimes you have to put your own needs first, even if that doesn’t please others. You are not required to set yourself on fire to keep other people warm.” ~Shannon Olson Like a lot of people who know better, I still tend to put the needs or wishes of others before my own. Even if someone lets me off the hook and gives me “permission” to put myself first, I might feel a bit guilty when I do so. It gets tricky sometimes, because I truly enjoy helping others. Somewhere between selflessness and selfishness is a healthy balance. One thing I know for sure is this: When I set myself…
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The empty nest
“It is not what you do for your children; it’s what you have taught them to do for themselves that will make them successful human beings.” ~Ann Landers As I post this, a good friend is on the expressway, driving her only daughter to start her first week of college in another state. I’m reminded of an essay I wrote a few weeks later after I settled into my newly emptied nest. The piece was first published in Metro Parent magazine, and later excerpted and reprinted in Guideposts. To read it online, click here. Today our son is a married man with a family of his own — yet the topic of launching our kids to…
