Judging by the amount of media space they get, we all want to read about celebrity divorces. How is it that they find a beautiful, highly successful spouse and throw the wedding of their dreams (and ours) but cannot stand each other for even as long as we less famous folk do? John Tierney and Garth Sundern have been working on this conundrum. In 2006, they published a formula for predicting the...
Daffodil Days
Today, the daffodils in my front yard bloomed. So did the hillside of daffodils at the home of a friend well west of me. She called to tell me. Daffodils bloomed well east of me in New Jersey today. My artist friend posted a photo online. It is a gorgeous day, with a light breeze and a temperature more often enjoyed in May than four days before St. Patrick’s Day. I left my car at the Post...
Regaining Your Wife’s Respect
The following is a comment I received today in reply to my 3 Ways to Get Your Wife’s Respect post on October 18, 2011. It is a classic situation, and I suspect the answer may help more than Drew, who left the comment. I made several mistakes during a one year period over seven years ago. Since I have been a model man and model father, she even gets ro stay home if she chooses. Now, after 7+...
Love Cannot Explain
When we Assume Love, we do it to help us look for alternate explanations for an upsetting incident. Finding them helps us bounce back emotionally and often grow closer to our spouses. Some things, though, cannot be explained as the acts of a loving person with a sound mind. Among them: Putting your freedom, food, or shelter in jeopardy by committing felony acts, spending more than disposable...
Thumbing Your Nose at Insufficient Generosity
In Daniel Pink’s book, Drive, he reports “an experiment replicated around the world.” It’s a two-player experiment, just like your marriage or life partnership. One player gets $10 and the right to choose how much of it, if any, to share with the other player. The other player decides to accept what’s offered or give all $10 back to the psychologist running the...

