tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-113556662011-04-21T15:07:27.387-04:00Jeanne Spellmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00199759187276281702noreply@blogger.comBlogger21100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11355666.post-1143336799776094932006-03-25T20:20:00.000-05:002006-03-26T09:59:27.196-05:00It has been a lot of years now since I attended the <a href="http://register.sterling-institute.com/ww.php">Sterling Women's Weekend</a>, but I still keep finding new places in my life to apply the lessons. When I first did the Sterling Women's Weekend, I was single, going nowhere in my career, and in the process of ending a 6 year relationship with my boyfriend. Today we are planning a party to celebrate our 20-year anniversary. It's hard to believe that the time has passed so quickly.<br /><br />The <a href="http://sterling-institute.com/">Sterling Institute of Relationship</a>'s programs and classes for graduates have kept the principles and the lessons of the Sterling Women's Weekend alive in my life. 20 years ago, I was a loner with very few friends, mostly men. Today I have a lot of women in my life that I can go to for help, comfort, or just to get away and go skiing for a day. :-)<br /><br />The big challenge in my life today is learning how to be an effective mother to boys. Every time I heard Justin Sterling speak in the last couple years, he has spent a lot of time talking about mothering. It has made me look at the assumptions I have about raising children. After all, most of what I know about raising children comes from my parents. They did a good job, but there are things I swore I would never do as a parent, and look -- there I am again -- yelling at my kids the way I said I never would.<br /><br />Many of the disciplines of the Sterling Women's Weekend apply to raising boys, I think. Since January, I have been trying to make sure I spend 15 minutes a day with each of my boys individually. That is harder than I thought. I spend lots of time with them, but 15 minutes of individual attention, doing what HE wants, instead of what I want --THAT is a challenge. But it is really paying off. The boys are going out of their way to do little things for me, or to do what I ask them to do, when I ask them. They are noticeably more affectionate, and give more hugs and cuddles. They are 6 and 8 years old, so I know that the cuddly years are coming to an end. But thanks to the lessons I learned at the Sterling Women's Weekend, I know that I need to appreciate these years while I have them. The time for letting go is coming, but not just yet!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/11355666-114333679977609493?l=spellmant.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jeanne Spellmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00199759187276281702noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11355666.post-1110460033506139712005-03-10T08:05:00.000-05:002005-03-10T08:07:42.103-05:004 deer in the front yard this morning by the bike shed. Didn't think to get the camera, but I rarely get a good camera picture of deer, anyway. Tim is in Florida with brother Chris and Rich O'Keeffe. Setting this up to try a moblog.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/11355666-111046003350613971?l=spellmant.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jeanne Spellmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00199759187276281702noreply@blogger.com2