Holiday Tradition

Well it is holiday time. A time of year that I always enjoy tremendously. I love all the decorations, baking, gift giving, and time with family and friends. One couple I recently met was having a problem with the fact that they each celebrated different holiday traditions. The oldest child is now old enough to understand the holidays and they didn’t know whose traditions they should make a tradition in their family. I was wondering why they had to choose. I figure why not incorporate both? There are a few ways to do it. You could do each event/tradition at different times of the holiday month. Another option is to combine both traditions at the same time, picking the favorites from each. And lastly, you could alternate years, do one tradition each year and switch to the other the next. Either way the child and family will benefit from getting to experience wonderful traditions and creating family memories that will last a lifetime. Until next month...get out of the past, look toward the future, but live in the NOW.

Moving for a Promotion?

Hello this month’s entry will talk about a decision that many dual earner couples in today’s society might have to make. And that decision is about relocation of the family for a career. The couple I will refer to has a decision to make about whether to move for the husband’s promotion or not. This is not an easy decision to make since other people’s lives are affected, not just the husband. In this case, the couple has a child to consider, but the child is still very young and won’t be very affected by the decision. So that removes one big factor right there. Another big factor is that of the wife’s career. She travels a lot on business and can pretty much live anywhere so moving won’t really affect her career. That takes care of another big factor. So what is the disagreement all about? Well, the husband and the wife both like their current location due to the fact that it is a safe and nice place to raise a child with friends and family nearby. However, the opportunity is more important to the husband than the location and so he wants to move and she wants to stay. So the question is, how to make both parties happy because you can’t have one unhappy and the other happy and have a relationship work. Well, compromise is basically the key. There are three main options that the couple has…stay where they are, live separately and make a long distance relationship work, or move. And each choice has its complications.

• During the decision process, make sure to weigh out the pros and cons. Be realistic.
  
• Discuss and create possible solutions and compromises for different scenarios. Perhaps the husband can go and try it out first and see if he likes the job or the new location before the family comes.
  
• Remain fair to both parties. Resentment can build when people are forced to do things that they don’t want to so like I said before, compromise.
  
• Remain open-minded.
  
• Think of this as an opportunity for change or another option life has presented not a problem. Then decide whether you want to take it or not.
  

If you have to make this type of decision, there isn’t a right or wrong choice. Each family must decide what is the right solution for them. And ultimately, what will be best for all members of the family. Until next month…get out of the past, look toward the future, but live in the NOW.