December, 2010 - Thrive in Life


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“I Want To Die At Home” — Part One
By Diane Schachter

It was a Monday, October 7^th. I know that because it would be my Dad’s last Monday, just four days before he died. My family had to make a crucial decision.

It began on the morning my mother poured out her desperate words to me on the telephone: “It was a bad night.” My head was spinning with images of Dad uncontrollably thrashing in pain throughout the night.

Seven months earlier, my father had made his desire strongly and clearly known to his family. He wanted to die at home. Read more

COMMENTS (12) | empowerment, loss, relationships, thriving

Just Jesse: The Amazing Jack Russell Terrier
By Heather Brook

Incredible Video of Jesse Helping around the House.

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My name is Heather Brook, and my best friend Jesse is currently 5 years old. He is a tri-color, broken-coat, Jack Russell Terrier who loves adventure. Ever since I brought him home on my 16^th birthday when he was 8 weeks old, we have been inseparable. Read more

COMMENTS (16) | animal companion, animal training, humour, thriving

Expert Series: Steve Kayser: How To Defeat Your Inner Deadbeat
By Steve Kayser

In every person’s life, there is a still, small voice that tries to guide you to a wonderful calling—a destiny.

Your Destiny

A calling that you, and only you, were put on this earth to fulfill. Near silent, this voice is powerful enough to lift thoughts, dreams and visions to a higher ground. In ancient Rome, this inner voice was called “genius.” A tutelary inner-mentor to guide your aspirations forward–to be the best writer, politician, businessman, inventor, doctor, lawyer, painter, dancer, father, mother or whatever calling you were placed on this earth to fulfill. Read more

COMMENT (1) | empowerment, self improvement, thriving

Meditations On Life And Death By A Crazy Cat Lady
By Pamela Tarlow-Calder

When I got home, reeking of blood and disinfectant, the other cats ran from me, fur raised on their backs, but Sita jumped on the bed and lay across my stomach, purring her booming trademark purr, incubating what was left of the baby. The baby turned out fine, and spent the next twelve years as Sita’s token human kitten. I’ve often wondered if that rhythmic vibration rumbling through my uterous somehow strengthened that tenuous hold, and prevented the miscarriage. Read more

COMMENTS (2) | animal companion, loss, relationships

Expert Series: What Are You Willing To Do, That No One Else Is Willing To Do?
By Brad Worthley

In mid-October of 2006, the love of my life, Melanie, got out of the bathtub and mentioned her skin itched badly and it would not stop. We assumed that it might have been the bath oil that she used, so we dismissed it as a topical issue (as something on top of the skin that created the itch, like the bath oil). The itching did not stop and it progressively got worse so we considered all the possibilities and changed laundry detergent, soap and anything else that we believed could be causing this unusual condition. We even re-washed all of her clothes in allergy free washing soap, which we believed would eliminate the itching, but it did not. Read more

COMMENT (0) | empowerment, health, relationships

Expert Series: Boston Terrier Petey Copes With The Loss Of Chris
By Laura Stinchfield - Pet Psychic

On the early morning of October 19^th, my friend Chris Staley passed away of cancer. He was 45. A few weeks prior to his death, Chris asked me to be his dog’s guardian. Petey is a remarkable one-year-old Boston Terrier. One minute he will be running around squeaking a toy and using my legs as a jump off point. And the next minute he will be curled up in my lap, looking up at me wide-eyed saying things like, “My dad had more pain inside of him than he voiced. Why do bodies die? Read more

COMMENT (1) | animal companion, loss, relationships

Expert Series: Go For The Goal
By Alissa Finerman

What does it mean to truly thrive? Does it mean to have a fabulous career, great friends, a loving partner or a fulfilling day? This is the question each person needs to define for oneself. I know one thing for sure, you need to set goals and make choices to thrive.

I equate thriving with the phrase living in your top 1%, which I’ve defined below.

LIVING IN YOUR TOP 1%: The practice of using all your strengths, talents, and assets to live your best life possible. Living with this philosophy includes taking the words can’t, should, and impossible out of your vocabulary and believing that you can create whatever you commit to. It’s about reaching your personal best without comparing yourself to others. Read more

COMMENT (0) | learning, self improvement, thriving

Thriving In The Classroom
By Bev Schellenberg

A revolution is underway in our classrooms. No one’s walking around with pithy statements on picket signs; no one’s blasting headlines across newspapers. But the reality is our school system is undergoing a monumental transition, and you may not even know it. Read more

COMMENT (0) | children, education, empowerment

Taking Mental Illness Out Of The Shadows, And Into The Light
By Lindsay Thompson

My Personal Story: Learning To Thrive With Schizophrenia

I remember with haunting clarity my first time on a psychiatric ward. I was 17 and scared and confused. My Mom brought me into emergency where I was admitted and brought upstairs to the psychiatric floor. It was night time and walking down that long, dark hallway to my room, catching glances from the other patients induced a fear and loneliness I’ll never forget. I cried all night. The next day, although, still scared and desperate to go home, I was less afraid. The ward was bright and the patients were “regular” people. Read more

COMMENT (1) | children, empowerment, mental illness, parenting, thriving


	Mike My wife is an alcoholic she drinks liquor from the time she gets up until the the liquor store closes.im at the crossroa... April I have been married to my alcoholic husband for 11 years but we have been together for the last 19 years. We met at a ve... Tina I have been married for 22 years. Both my husband and I were casual drinkers. As the years went by we began drinking m... Amy Weisenburger What a beautiful message!! My fur-babies, soulmates gave my life tremendous purpose and meaning. Their paw print... Frank Sterle Jr. Whenever I observe stress in the facial expression of my mother, a typical senior, I also observe how that stress drains... Kim This was an excellent blog. I have been with my alcoholic husband for 15 years. I felt like I was losing my mind with th... Alice Helping someone with this issue is hard. And even more if you love him. I know that very well. We struggled with it for ... Union Alarm The best way is to leave such a person as it is not worth making your life miserable with such a person. I know this as ... Nancy Flora I think what you mean is a non-drinking member of an alcoholic family. Alcoholism is a family disease. Just as your husb... Amanda The family is waking up Sunday AM and my alcoholic husband again makes another nasty comment to me. The things he has sa... Angel I learned how to detach from my drunk husband! Than my mother passed away. All gloves were off after that. My son gradua... Lorraine Married thirty seven and a half years to an alcoholic. But he is a good person. And he does good deeds for everyone neig... jw I have been with my husband twenty one years. We have three children together, ages 5,7, and 9. He is a functioning alco... Richard Berman A emotional story well written with bright eye ups and sad eye downs. A story I could relate to. My grandparents would... Gina Love this. Just what I needed to read. Thank you for your courage to share this.... Tired I am struggling with detaching, but still trying. I have been with my other half off and on for 5 years. The offs were... Debra Grossman Thank you for sharing this beautiful story. It nourishes my soul to learn of such special friendships. We humans must ... Jack russell Really enjoyed reading the website. I have also have a website about this great dog.... Thank God for your blog. After 37 years of being married to an alcoholic,I've finally reached my breaking point. Emotion... Thanx 4 da truth... Sandra I am from USA, i am 36 years old, i want to gladly give My testimony of how a spell caster dr.mac@yahoo. com brought bac... g Thank you for your words. As I navigate through marriage with children (11, 5, 3) and I am a stay at home mom, the idea ... Catherine Ellen Pettway My husband and I married in 1988. He occasionally drank beer but not everyday. He came from a long history of alcoholics... Nic Thank you Mike for your honesty and vulnerability. It helps to feel a connection with someone who understands the enduri... Robert Goldsmith Thank you for sharing that very intimate experience and your story. I'm married to an alcoholic and am having severe pro... MANDI Is this group still going? I love my husband and I knew what I was getting into when I married him. I knew he like to dr... Kelly Dear Keith, I hope you are at peace now. You are missed by many.... Delilah Campos Dear LaVora, Thank you so much for sharing this intimate experience. I am deeply touched and encouraged by your experie... Mary Ellen Bennett Thank you so much. I am married to an alcoholic and I have watched him go through rehabilitation and relapse many times.... Tracy Thank you for sharing your story with me Ivor. I'm so glad you had a loving supportive Aunt to guide you out from beneat... Daniel Fontana I know those kids,especially Snezana.Please send me their contact information.... Neyhaaa I can't thank you enough for sharing this. Yet, thank you.... Amy My daughter is five and her dad is an alcoholic. I know we need to leave. We both own our house and I can't afford a law... CPC I think this is among the such a lot important info for me. And i'm happy studying your article. However want to statem... online festival Every year, people in India find different ways to celebrate the same festival, and perhaps this adds new dimension to... Karol Listening to all the mother's on here is overwhelming for me. I think about what all of you are going through and I can ... Vicki Osheka This is my second marriage and I came from a non drinking family. Didn't realize what I was getting into when I married... Elle Wel written article. My husband is walking around totally beligerant. Where he ends up making messes, he has snowballed ... Maren Thank you for this! 3rd day on Cipralex and a glimmer of hope.... I 'gave in' recently. I am more hopeful than ever that things will improve for me after reading this article. It is insp... LindaJane Riley I apologize to everyone who has commented. I didn't know this story was still active. I would like to invite all of ... Rahulbh28 Dear Members, Please help me. . . I'm sharing my painful moments which my brother and my family members are undergoing ... rene Yes i too lived the nightmare for 45 yrs..when in my marriage the last. 10 yrs my alcoholic lived in the same house and ... Grace I typed in Google search, overcoming childhood loneliness because I am paying attention to some habits that I have been ... Casadina I am so thankful that I found this website. I am like others on here and my alcoholic is passed out snoring again. This ... Grateful I cannot express how much I appreciate your story. I have been with my alcoholic for 11 years and I do not even know my... Vic I stumbled upon this beautifully written article because I just "gave in" today. I just picked up my perscription of cir... Carol I have recently begun to admit that my husband is an alcoholic. My heart is broken... I am pissed... I have so many emot... TJ Thank you for this article. You are the first person who seems to understand why I am still married to an alcoholic. I... sariah I wept as I read your story. I am currently learning to detach as well after 20 years of marriage to an alcoholic. Leavi... LaVora Good luck, N. My experience may not be yours. However, I deeply believe that happiness is our birthright. You deserve th... nk Lavora, I am exactly here in my marriage - trying to turn it around. Rgds, N... Suzanne Hi Martin and Cathy. Watched your documentary. You are a wonderful family. Everyone has their struggles, no one is exemp... admin Thank you for letting us know. The link is now set to the their new WEB page. We have our dog from them.... Linda Jane Riley About a year ago I was forced to take a step back from all things related to alcoholism. My husband, Riley, was not drin... SHerry Your link to the rescue adoption site is for sale with no other info on the dogs.... Karen Rago I think that Jesse is the most adorable jack Russell terrier dog I love watching his videos to... Marleen Thank you for sharing your story! That's real inspirating!... Julie Its 4:50am here. I can hear him snoring in the nursery. I brought the baby to bed with me.. He only snores when he drink... ld I thought I was suffering alone. The advice and comments make me feel better and gives me the strength to go on. Keep th... Sam Hi Mike, Very poignant, "There are no grown-ups. We are all children in adult garments" is right on the mark. Sufferi... TJ Thank You!!! Like "judy" commented above my mind was racing and I felt out of control... My life seemed to be falling a... Karunakaran It's very nice.... judy Thanks for ur writings... it really help my mind to calm down.... where can i go to talk with alot of nonalcoholics??? N... Tanya Sousa We certainly do have to change the way we respond, don't we Paul? I'm encouraged though. I do see it happening -- althou... Paul Trainer Thank you, Tanya, this is all so true. As someone who adores starlings too, I know that it is only when you take the tim... Cathy In reading I see how difficult it is to be married to an alcoholic husband for 30 years and have now discovered that if ... carrir You took the words right out of my mouth. Xoxo... ceri What an amazing story of love between step son and step father... Caney Texas Hello! I've been reading your site for some time now and finally got the bravery to go ahead and give you a shout out fr... julie what a wonderful article, she described me to a tee , it was nice to put words to the feelings , I am new to cipralex bu... michele I am hurting so badly right now, it is taking all the strength and coping ability I have just to get through the day! O... denise morini PLEASE understand that I do not feel redeemed......still...........getting Lexi DID NOT make up for what I did to Jack, ... Carleen Quesenberry Denise- It is perplexing that you would write a "feel good" story after you abandoned a dog due to your failure to trai... Jon While I love the article, I caution those reading the post by "finally AM, me." I was in a relationship for 12 years to... Wendy Noer I felt like I was there, good story Melodee, keep writing. Let me know when you finish another one.... thank you... Sandi This is great, Mel! Congratulations! I hope to see more of your writings - especially the novel you're working on...... Katie My name is Katie. I'm 40. I have only visited your website, haven't purchased your book yet. I've been diagnosed bi-... Kaylee Your story helped convince me to start retaking my cipralex! Thank you!... gautam khanal Love actually does not have any boundary of Cast,Religion,Profile,Species,Class etc........ Nayanna Chakrbarty Dear Kalpana, Thank you for your kind wishes. I do agree with you, when you think you are all alone that's when He ma... Kalpana Dear Nayanna, It' such a pleasure reading your experiences with Ganapthi (as I call him). He is so close to my heart ... Haley Made my day we have no reason to complain bout anything... Melissa Sorry typo , thank you again ...... Melissa Thank you , LindaJane; I will consider joining. Thank you against for your response .. Be well Melissa... Linda J Riley UPDATE -- Since I wrote this story, I have created several support groups: Two on Facebook and one on an independent sit... Melissa For 20 years that had been my life! This last time was so bad , he attacked me then choked his 19 year old twin daughter... Steve Sumii Joe, What a beautiful story. I visualized the whole story. The ending where you walk with your dad was especially moving... JW The story now the subject of a documentary aired on Knowledge Network. Video can be seen online at: http://knowled... http://tinyurl.com/kovalane39421 I really would like to book mark this blog, “Turning Trash Into Beauty – Kat Nicotera’s Unique Art Therapy \| Thri... joybells wow. i am going through the same journey! thanks for helping me & assisting me with that journey!... Noelle Sterne Fangfang-- You have been blessed with a husband and parents who understand that nothing is wasted. And you have learn... Fangfang Wow ... what a strong and passionate article!! Really?? Nothing is wasted?? I am feeling like I have wasted my life for... Pushpa Rawat sooo lovely and feel of very true friendship forever... Tanya Sousa Hi Diane! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. I was so blessed to have her in my life AND to have the parents I had. Also, gr... Joyce Billie, I found your story very interesting and well-written. Some people would have been judgemental about the conditio... Diane Shiri, your article is very interesting and brought tears to my eyes. I have been a dog parent/companion to many wonder... Diane Schachter Tanya, I so enjoyed reading the story of your dog sister. I love how you describe your adventures and relationship with... Acamea Thank you James. :-)...