Author Archives: Alison Patton

“I learned the hard way that I cannot always count on others to respect my feelings, even if I respect theirs. Being a good person doesn’t guarantee that others will be good people. You only have control over yourself and how you choose to be as a person. As for others, you can only choose to accept […]

This is a common question I get, so a few years ago I put together an article on this topic and it originally ran on Huffington Post.  I’ve updated the information a bit.  Click here to find that article, entitled “How to Decide Whether to Mediate.”  Also on this same page are other free articles […]

Today I have the pleasure of being a guest on Divorce Sucks: A Smart Girl’s Guide to Doing  it Better, hosted on VoiceAmerica by Laura Miolla (Divorce Coach, creator of MoxieLife.com).  The program airs live today at 10 a.m. California time, 1 p.m. Eastern time.   It’s available on demand at any time after that.  Click […]

I didn’t think he cared. Twice weekly visits seemed enough for him, A dinner, a chat, an update on life and school. No more, no less. Neither shallow nor deep. A hug goodbye, a wave, the door would shut, we would drive away and our life would go on. It wasn’t until years later in […]

Five months ago, our orange and white tabby was hit by a car and killed. Cinder was his name and he was a bit of a local celebrity. The second half of his life he took to roaming the neighborhoods and hanging out at our local high school. He became a fixture there and somehow […]

I think I’ve used some of these phrases he mentions. I guess I must be “ultra spiritual!” (One of the funniest YouTube videos I’ve seen.  Sit back and have a good laugh!) -Alison

SOMETIMES …you come to a place whose only task is to trouble you with tiny but frightening requests conceived out of nowhere but in this place beginning to lead everywhere. Requests to stop what you are doing right now, and to stop what you are becoming while you do it, questions that can make or […]