Joy Phenix's Blog

“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.” F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby Life for Team Phenix begins over again. For the next 11 1/2 weeks [...]

This week, Team Phenix hits a new watermark; by Friday there are less than 3,000 days before our daughter goes to college. That’s 428 weeks, or more importantly, 428 weekends. 107 months 8 years. Approximately.  But who’s counting?  We are! Oh yes, we’re counting.  We believe when you count the days, you’re more likely to [...]

Do you hear your mom’s voice rattle around in your head?  Do you ever notice your mannerisms in the mirror as distinctly coming from your mom? Can you hear the tone of your voice as though it comes directly from your childhood? These days, for me the answer to all of those questions is a [...]

Are you tempted NOT to eat out for Mother’s Day? This is one day of the year when I LOVE staying close to home and avoiding the crowds and hectic pace of the restaurant scene. However, I don’t mind turning over the kitchen to the budding cooks in my house. The only challenge is, what [...]

“He who loves, sees.” C.S. Lewis The other day I came home and our sitter described how my son seemed particularly quiet after school.  She spent the better part of the afternoon trying to coax the story out of him, eventually learning the details of a 8-year-old playground drama. By the time we came home, [...]

Could everyone do me a favor? Could we collectively ditch the entire notion of a “Superwoman”? For one thing, the idea doesn’t have a consistent meaning among people. What is admired by one is disdained by another. What prompts awe in one person strikes someone else as sad. For instance, I was in one environment [...]

“..(it) is not the life of simplicity but the life of multiplicity that the wise men warn us of. It leads not to unification but to fragmentation. It does not bring grace; it destroys the soul.” Anne Morrow Lindbergh There is a direct correlation between the complexity of my week and my attitude. When I [...]

“Dogs’ lives are too short. Their only fault, really.” Agnes Sligh Turnbull Our “puppy” turned two yesterday.  In dog years, I think that makes Mack a teenager. I know he still doesn’t have complete reasoning powers, and he definitely has more energy than sense, but still, we decorated the house, showered the dog with gifts [...]

This post reminded me – AGAIN – to approach my kids when I’m wrong in humility and with an eye toward healthy relationships. *** REPOST *** Parenting is a humbling experience. Pardon my surprise, but I didn’t realize how much I needed to change grow to do this job well.  I figured since I had [...]

One of the best compliments I’ve ever received was when someone said their family started playing the compliment game because of this post!  What high praise!!! Thanks so much.  For those of you who might have missed it, here’s a favorite Team Phenix game! *** REPOST*** I am reading a fantastic book by Bob Goff [...]