This short business story might give you that answer — As a marketer, I once consulted with a car wash that was losing money in one location and breaking even in another. It was no small task. The car wash business is a cash cow for owners but employee pay is minimal. I was walking into a business that had…

Why you shouldn’t ask if I miss having a daughter — I’m so sorry,” says the voice on the phone. “Why?” I ask. “That you didn’t have a girl.” “Why are you sorry?” I say. I’m in the hospital. I’ve given birth to my second son. He is hours old. I can’t believe the words I’m hearing. …

But this is what made me cry like a baby — I’m walking my dogs this morning when tears fill my eyes. It’s been a month. I shouldn’t feel this sadness. I tell myself I’m being silly. I lost my home in a divorce. I lost 4,500 square feet of belongings. I lost a beach house and a rental property. …

I have always been motivated by love — I call myself a southern New Yorker much to the dismay of my true Nu Yawker buddies. I blame it on my native Brooklyn parents and a large Irish brood that makes The Big Apple home. I am also a declared Jersey girl despite the protests of my Sea Isle…

A couple sitting poolside just reminded me what it was — I’m enjoying a day in the sun. I’m finally taking advantage of our community pool. I’m counting my blessings. I’m grateful life is moving beyond the traumatic scars of a narcissist. A couple enter the other side of the pool and settle into a few loungers. They are in my…

The important divorce conversation married women need to have — “You seem smart,” says the woman. As if being dumb were a prerequisite for getting screwed in a divorce. It’s not. Beautiful, smart, capable women get cheated on or cheated out of their life savings every day. …

These 5 things are an indicator you should run — We make relationships more complicated than they are. It’s like parenting. If only we stuck to a few cardinal rules it would be easier. But we get bogged down in the day-to-day and exhaustion wears us down. We’re trying to do it all. We’re trying to keep it all together. …

At that point, I should have immediately one thing — I always say my marriage didn’t suffer sudden death like an affair. It limped along with the symptoms of long-term illness. It didn’t deter me. I’m not a quitter. I’m a fixer and a rescuer. This ant was going to move her rubber tree plant. “I’m not going back,” says…

My exhaustive timeline of leaving an abusively controlling man — I experienced an abusive five-year divorce preceded by several years of my husband uncharacteristically abusing alcohol. I just wanted our marriage to work and to heal. And then I just wanted out. My husband had other plans. Or should I say his own abusive agenda? If you haven’t experienced extreme…