Have you ever felt like you never measure up? You go through life always feeling like you don’t do enough and you’re trying to meet everyone’s spoken and unspoken expectations? No matter what stage of life you may be in, you will deal with these feelings and emotions in some way. In the movie “Chicken Little”, the main character struggled with these insecurities and was only able to truly communicate them to a few close friends. When it came to his parents, they always seemed to hem and haw around the issues. Only until a major catastrophe hit the planet that was being attacked by aliens, could the son build up enough courage to share his heart without fear.

In the real world we see this story played out all the time. Kids and young adults turning to their friends and divulging all their thoughts and feelings; parents so preoccupied with life that they miss out on key listening times with their kids until a tragedy happens or some other form of crisis. There is no better time than now to recharge and revitalize one’s relationships by removing unrealistic expectations and listening to our kids unconditionally. As parents we need to become aware of the pressures that we put on our kids; it can become the “straw that broke the camels back.” That may seem a bit extreme but it is valid, due to the amount of unforeseen pressures that our kids deal with everyday that we may not know about.

David Rodriguez
Case Manager/Independent Love and Logic Facilitator

With the state of our economy being what it is families are finding the need to “tighten the belts financially”. Here are a few money saving tips that may help you today.

Ask yourself “do I really need this?” Oftentimes, if you walk away from the item, you forget about it and find that you never needed it.

Shop for household items (dishes, decorating items, books, clothing) at second-hand shops (Goodwill, Salvation Army, consignment shops). Make sure you thoroughly wash all items. Many people donate brand new or barely used items to these places as they purchased something they really didn’t need or use.

If you plan to purchase anything, I mean anything (fast food, electronics, etc.), check out www.slickdeals.net. People post coupons and deal scenarios every day! I can’t tell you how many times I have scored free shipping, 10% off from this website.

Every little bit saved can help your family weather these economic times.