From the archives, how to cheer up the darker days…

The days are getting shorter, the nights colder.  Although we can’t bring back the light of the summer and we can’t stop the rain from falling on our heads, there are always the simple, small ways to lift our spirits.  If you are mid-divorce especially, the darkness out your window only adds to your dark mood.

The Royal Tenenbaums is a film about family relationships including divorce and separation. 

It is one of Wes Anderson’s finest films featuring twisted, kinky, loving,  cheated and needy people who make up a mostly neurotic family.

Why would I choose to highlight this film on my blog?  Simple.  It’s a great example of taking situations related to divorce and making them funny…and…if the Royal Tenenbaums can get through their outrageous problems so can we…

“Dreams are often most profound when they seem the most crazy.” -Sigmund Freud

Henri Matisse

Whoever said dreams are meaningless was wrong.  Do you suffer from nocturnal meanderings that disturb your sleep?  Our subconscious thoughts get mixed up with our events of the day to culminate in some pretty strange dreams.  During divorce, our daytime events are often full of stress and conflict.  What we would like to forget at the end of the day can come back to haunt us in our

From the archives, one of my favorites;

I can’t think of a better way to spend a rainy day then to pen a love letter.  During divorce we stop believing in love, so bring back that feeling by writing a love letter to anyone of your choice, maybe someone you’ve always admired from afar.  Some say a love letter to yourself

“Just get up, put your lipstick on and get out there.”  This was the advice given to a friend of mine by her grandmother when she was going through her divorce.

source; Pinterest

So many pretty colors to choose from…

Grandma gave this advice for different situations, not just during divorce.  She gave herself this advice when her husband passed away.  The devastating loss had her feeling hopeless until she told herself  “Get off your ass, and put your lipstick on…” In other words,  get up and ‘Just Do It’.  Did Nike steal this grandmother’s mantra (minus the lipstick)?  It seems Liz Taylor would agree.  The drink is optional, of course…

photo by Mary Schonnen

“Summertime, and the livin’ is easy…your daddy’s rich and your mamma’s good lookin’..”  That old Gershwin jazz tune always plays through my mind in June.  Summer is upon us and we’ve waited patiently for it to come! We even travel great distances at great expense during the winter months to get a taste of this season in some other exotic locale.  But now we have it, right outside our own

credit unknown

One of the best stress busters during divorce or any difficult time, is exercise.  Any sweaty sport, activity or even a simple brisk walk can clear the mind of our negative thoughts firing.  Sweat therapy I call it, because you get in the moment and forget all of the worries that are plaguing your mind and focus on what your

I was thinking it would be sweet to make Wednesdays our ‘quote of the week’ day.  So let’s begin with something fun.

“Wine is constant proof that God loves us and loves to see us happy.” – Benjamin Franklin

The days are getting shorter, the nights colder.  Although we can’t bring back the light of the summer and we can’t stop the rain from falling on our heads, there are always the simple, small ways to lift our spirits. 

I saw on Pinterest recently a quote that spoke right to me; “The problem with real life is there is no soundtrack playing in the background”  With the gamut of emotions during a divorce;  sadness, loneliness, anger, happiness, confusion, and everything in between, what better way to deal with it then some music therapy?