Linda Marie Marten

Category: Uncategorized

  • Questions from an Empty Nester in a New Land

    When the kids finally left home, many questions came to my mind ~ What does it mean to be a “mother” now? What does it mean to be a “father” now? What does it mean to be a married couple now after all these years? What’s our purpose now in life?  What’s next?…….. For me?…..…

  • “HOW TO STOP BEING BULLIED” ~ January 23 ~ Free Workshop

  • New Year Reflections ~

    Well, we made it through the holidays! I was going to write about dealing with holiday stress, but I guess I was too stressed and too busy to write about it! Hope you weren’t expecting it. Like the holidays, we tend to have high expectations of “the most wonderful time of the year” that often…

  • Let it Snow! (sip cocoa, read, and watch it snow!)

    “Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!” Maybe that’s a good mantra for parents as they weather the ups and downs of parenthood.  As the song goes, …”The weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful. As long as you love me so, let it snow, let it snow, let it…

  • How do you Culivate Gratitude in Hard Times?

    This is supposed to be the season of giving thanks, of Thanks-giving. We encourage our children to be grateful. But are we grateful? How can we be grateful after great loss or death or change that shakes our world?  What if you just lost your job or found out you have cancer? What if you…

  • Save the Date: Wed. eve, January 23, 2013, FREE Parent Workshop

    Start the New Year right with a Parent Workshop! Thanks to the Westchester YMCA, I will be presenting a free parent workshop at the YMCA Annex (that nice building behind the Y, formerly Jr. Women’s Club site). TOPIC: Teasing and Bullying (how to empower the victim to stop the bullying) Time:  6:30pm to 7:30pm on…

  • The “Empty Nest Syndrome”

    When my kids started leaving the nest, I asked an older mother with grown kids,        “What does the mother bird do when her babies leave the nest?” (I was on retreat and had been watching a bird nest outside my window with two very fat (almost grown) baby birds chirping loudly for food, similar to…

  • My Heart has Many Homes

    Hello Again, My husband and I just returned from a refreshing trip to beautiful British Columbia. After living in Los Angeles for almost 29 years, it felt like heaven to see so many green trees, fresh air and Spring blooming everywhere; baby ducks, geese, bunnies, squirrels, and even black bears in the mountains eagerly eating…

  • ” You must have a place …

    ” You must have a place to which you can go in your heart, your mind, or your house, almost every day, where you do not owe anyone and where no one owes you ~~ a place that simply allows for the blossoming of something new and promising.” Joseph Campbell

  • Conflicts and Communication Skills

    Most parents (including myself) get triggered by what their teenage son or daughter says or does.  We don’t have any control over getting triggered in any relationship. However, we do have control over how we respond, (with practice).  Most parents/people respond in one of two ways: over react and explode  or  withdraw and put up…