Julianne Harvey

William had a friend over to play and I overheard their conversation.  His friend asked, "Can I take some of your trash pack guys home for awhile and then bring them back to you?"  William said, "Hmm, you want to take some of them home?  Just wait a minute and let me think about it."

His response struck me as brilliant.  He repeated back what his friend wanted, possi...

The greatest thing we can offer another person is to maintain their dignity in all of our interactions.  This is especially true with children, because they depend on us for their survival, and when we damage their dignity we are permanently scarring them in their development.

We all get frustrated and lose it from time to time.  That's a given.  But in Wal...

Our kids need to learn to manage disappointment.  These days, parents tend to jump in and shield kids from the harsh facts of life, and I don't think this helps children learn what they need to know to become healthy, well-adjusted teens and adults.

When I was a kid, I knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that I would not be invited to everyone's birthday party.  I understood tha...

Last week I took the kids to the pediatric dentist for cleanings.  I realized while sitting in the waiting room that if I could measure my personal growth using nine month dental check-ups, I would be able to see just how much I have actually changed.

Two years ago, I would fantasize about throwing myself down the stairs in the days leading up to the dentist appointm...

My six year old son looked at me this week and asked, "Does it hurt when you die?"  I stared into his big brown eyes, sad that I would now have to answer as honestly as I could, and said, "It depends on how you die."

"What if you burn to death?" he asked.  My response was, "Yes, I think that would hurt, but our bodies go into shock when we are in a lot of pain and so after a b...

This  weekend, Jason surprised me with a 40th birthday party.  He told me to keep the date open, but that's all I knew.  Normally I'm the one who plans everything so it was a treat to sit back, do nothing, and simply allow the event to unfold.

It was delightful.  He set up a movie theatre at our community centre, complete with popcorn, licorice, chocolate bars and dr...

Ava had a small stress breakdown this week.  Her anxiety had been growing slowly over a period of time, but a few things happened in a row and she broke down emotionally.  I felt astonished that I hadn't noticed the warning signs earlier, and after wasting a little bit of time beating myself up, I stopped that useless exercise to focus on the underlying problem.

As she cried a...

In September, an author friend invited me to a Writers Guild of Alberta event which was this Tuesday night.  I said yes and had Jason mark it on his calendar to be home so I could go.  Then suddenly he had to go to Taipei.  I was a good wife and didn't blame him (much) for this as he had to go for work and his job accounts for the material things we enjoy like shelter, food, clothing and movies.

For the past week or so, I have found myself filled with a reasonless happiness.  I have come through a rough month, filled with challenging growth and hurts, and so to feel happy puts me off-kilter, as though the other shoe is about to drop.

I'm trying to discard this uneasy sense, and simply enjoy what I am feeling.  Life is about stages.  We feel thrilled and then mela...

When I look at my son, and I see the long and winding road to restoration we have been traveling on, I feel intense gratitude for the healing I have experienced simply through loving him.  It was easy for me to give my heart to Ava, because loving her was like loving Jason.  She is even-tempered, happy, and relaxed, and loving her was like breathing for me.