David SNEAKED INTO the laundry room without Maria noticing. He was BREATHING DOWN HER NECK and watching whether Maria would go back on the promise she made to herself. Maria took a vow that she would never smoke again after her mother’s death. Maria CALLED IT QUITS because her mother PASSED AWAY due to lung cancer and that BROKE her DOWN even more. But watching if Maria would LIGHT UP a cigarette wouldn’t make the situation better. David needed to know that acting this way would RUB HER THE WRONG WAY and it would make her even more mad because this would leave her feeling as if she was CHEATING ON herself. David needed to trust and support her instead of discouraging her by being overbearing and watching her every move. Maria knew that such a decision needs a lot of effort, but still she TOOK THE PLUNGE. She was doing a great job. Although she went COLD TURKEY,  she hasn’t smoked a cigarette since.

I wonder if giving her the benefit of the doubt would be the right choice to make. 30 minutes ago, one lady made me lose face in front of many people. I was on stage talking to the audience about how everyone can be as fit as a fiddle. After I finished my speech and went backstage, one pissed off lady came to me. She shot down everything I said and she reamed me out in front of the whole backstage team. Maggie, a friend of mine, got behind me and she said that she either needed to get her act together or keep her mouth shut. She seemed to back down. I wasn’t sure what was going on. Now after the heated confrontation ended, she stood in front of me and apologized for what she did earlier. She said that she mixed up between another speaker and me. It felt like it was an elaborate put-on. I wasn't really persuaded. But since she was embarrassed about the whole situation, I think I can go the extra mile and forget about it as if nothing happened.

Lessons to go by in life:

I remember when my grandpa told me not to let a con artist scam me or trick me out.

I remember when my dad told me not to fall into the trap of egoism and not steal someone’s thunder.

I remember when my mom told me not to count my chickens before they hatch.

I remember when my teacher told me to be sharp and go after my dreams.

I remember when my neighbor told me not to judge a book by its cover.

I remember when my brother told me to keep on working because life isn’t a piece of cake.

I remember when my twin told me that every dog has his day.

I remember when my close friend told me that she can count on me.

I remember when my cousin told me you’re not a dime a dozen, you’re beyond compare.

I remember when my husband made a call and said that I will make history.

Looking up to the ceiling, my tears are falling silently. No one has noticed them yet. They are busy preparing the operating room. It seems that going under the knife is inevitable. I have never thought I would go through all this. I can feel the pain in every inch of my bones. As much as my physical pain is killing me, the pain in my heart is unbearable as well. I am not sure anymore where the pain is coming from. She said that she’ll be with me through thick and thin. But here I am on my own. It’s not like I’m a bit under the weather, but who knows, she might simply have bigger fish to fry. Or maybe I’m just a loser and a pain in the neck to her. But after all, I need to pick myself up. I only have one secret weapon left that I can use to wash off my pain at least for the moment. I stick with it. All I need to do is to space out and fantasize about what we used to do together. Honey, I still remember how we used to be an item and how my cheesy pick-up lines made you laugh when we first met back in 2018. I guess that my open physical and emotional wounds would mark a major turning point in my life. I think it is finally time to hang loose. It is time to take care of myself now.

It’s always darkest before dawn.

She learned it the hard way. She realized that she couldn’t make an omelet without breaking some eggs. She knew that she needed to rearrange her priorities since she was starting to lose her daughter. Throughout the years, the problem between Laura and her daughter, Jessie, had sort of taken a snowball effect. They had been through too many negatives lately. They had been fighting all the time. They had both maxed out and could no longer tolerate each other. They had reached their limits. They weren’t sure how to deal with the elephant in the room. Laura believed that her daughter must follow her community’s standards to be accepted. She wanted to rule everything. She thought that putting her daughter under pressure, or criticizing her actions were the only options she had to stop Jessie from fooling around. However, Laura wasn’t the only one to blame. We all know it takes two to tango. Jessie should also be held responsible for what was happening. She used to make waves at home. She used to steam up about everything her mother did or said. However, after a while, Laura realized that instead of stressing out about what her daughter must do, she had to step up and settle everything down. She asked Jessie for her help so she could rebuild their relationship. Laura wanted to know more about her daughter. She wanted to learn how her daughter would like to be treated. But also, Jessie did her best to keep her cool so she could clear up all the misunderstandings that happened over time. They both let their guard down and were finally able to reach a common ground.

Don’t we all have a person in our lives that wants to bite off more than they can chew? Their fear of missing out (FOMO) makes them do a lot of irrational things. They are never satisfied with what they have. They are always craving something new. Whenever they look around they want to do exactly what other people are doing. If someone they know wants to start up a new business, they would do anything to start one even if it would cost them an arm and a leg. If someone has a new project to work on, they would do anything to seek one even if they would end up cutting corners or biting the bullet. If someone wants to exercise and lose weight, they would do the same and barely survive by the skin of their teeth. You might find these people to be scatterbrained, or even bonkers. You might even say that they are the type of person that loves to show off. However, it could be that they are none of these, but certainly, they need to change their lifestyle. They need to mellow out and slow down or their life will surely fall apart and they will meltdown.

In Deep

I got a flashback of when we first met

When I had not fallen for you yet

I assumed you were a cold fish

But you turned out more than I ever wished

I thought you were just off the boat

But you taught me how to fly and to float

We used to be like two peas in a pod

Even though we were both crazy and pretty odd

But it seems that your guess is as good as mine

When both of us didn’t expect to cross the line

We made ourselves lose our minds

We burnt all bridges without giving any signs

Have you heard it from a grapevine?

That our love was called out to resign

Why wouldn’t you face-off?

To save what you called our “puppy love”

Why would you let me off the hook?

Leaving everything in ruins and both misunderstood

Or maybe you couldn’t face me and had to runoff

And put behind your heartbreak and loss

I always mention to my clients that you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. I have seen a lot of cases where some people want to impose their opinions or beliefs on others. Obviously, this approach is ineffective for the majority of people. For instance, one of the cases I saw was of a young man who hung up his best-paying job to pursue his dream. His girlfriend wasn’t really supportive and she believed that he made a big stink. The boy knew that there were clouds on the horizon but he was certain that he could weather the storm. He was determined to hold on to his dream and to turn his gig on social media into a successful business. But still, his girlfriend thought that he was an airhead and he threw caution to the wind. She did her best to keep him from doing what he wanted but without success. The young man got a second wind when he decided to break up with his girlfriend and leave her out of his plans. He knew about the huge potential that awaited him. He felt up to working on his craft. He was dedicated and patient. At the end of the day, he blew his ex-girlfriend’s mind when he hit 750 thousand followers in just one year. That’s why I always recommend that we need to try our best to understand people’s perspectives and have an open conversation instead of forcing them to do what we think is reasonable.

One day Betty and I were chit chatting as any two hairdressers do while tidying up their hair salon when they don’t have any clients left. Suddenly our stubborn elderly client, Victor, came in and unexpectedly requested to have a new haircut. Once Betty saw him, she stopped everything she was doing and ran to the back room. She kept away from him and gave him a cold shoulder since she believed that dealing with him was like beating a dead horse. To be honest, she really had a point. He was such a rude, cheapskate, and a real chatterbox. He would never stop complaining about life, politics and people. Now clearly, Betty ditched me to handle this situation on my own. He pointed out that he ran out of time and he should be ready for his granddaughter’s wedding in 30 minutes. At the drop of a hat, I put away everything that might bother him and turned on his favorite music. I started to set things up so I can put a black rug over his bald area as he requested. I hit the nail on the head. He really loved it! He was literally like a kid in a candy store. I thanked God that I survived that day!

Diaries of an Abused Woman

I have recently been feeling insecure and frightened. I am no longer happy with him. I am having a rough time since he started to go through all my phone calls, text messages, and receipts. He’s been stalking me and following me everywhere I go. He is driving me nuts. My relationship is becoming extremely toxic. All the good vibes that I used to feel toward our relationship are gone. I am so beat that I have no energy to fight anymore. I would prefer to back down than fight with him. I’m really scared that one day I might end up with a black eye. I really should make up my mind and leave after all I have been through. I feel ashamed to say this, but I do sometimes feel like I want to give him another shot. At other times, I just want to get back at him and give him a taste of his own medicine. I feel lost. Some people may say that I need to look on the bright side and to let it slide as nothing bad has ever happened between us. And other people may say that I should make a clean break, cross him off and move on. I hope to be strong enough and make the right choice.