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Showing posts from January, 2015

Enmeshment and Parenthood, the TV Show

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(1) The Queen of Enmeshment We've talked about finding meaning in life, the search for self and identity, and how the dynamics of our closest relationships, enmeshment in particular, can make that quest seemingly impossible. Cheryl Rice But nobody will teach you more about what it is like to really be enmeshed than Cheryl Rice. How the needs of a parent can hijack a child's sense of independence and well-being are the essence of her memoire,  Where Have I Been All My Life ,  the definitive treatment on the subject. Where Have I Been All My Life I don't want to spoil it, but the first obvious sign that Cheryl is in trouble starts with kindergarten. Most children are anxious, their moms excited to send them off to their first full day of school. Have a great time, don't forget to write! Cheryl can't handle the separation, probably because her mother set the stage. She can't handle it. Tears of separation anxiety, sobs of sadness, breaks even the unbreakable resolv

Ten Ways to Stop Texting Behind the Wheel

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Just today, heard about an auto fatality, first grief case of 2015. Somebody's sister, daughter. Somebody's friend.  At a stoplight that signature tone announces an incoming text. "Somebody loves me," I tell no one. 'Somebody loves me' is what FD says when his beeper goes off. He still has a pager and it still goes off at the worst times. He is always on the phone. If he had it his way, the chirp of the pager, high pitched, annoying, should mimic a baby's cry. The cry could be for anything from a request for a referral, to a medical emergency. Somebody loves him, loves that he can fulfill a need. His lover wants him to respond immediately, which he does. But we're not all doctors, and he doesn't text and drive.  That someone ‘needs me,’ or ‘loves me,’ explains why we find it so difficult to ignore our phones, either while driving or anywhere else, even in the shower. It just feels good, being the object of someone’s communication, being in someone