Author Archives: annie zirkel

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ABCGMA_logo#3: The following is the third of 3 questions for the ABC Good Morning America Advice Guru Challenge. I applied for the position. What do you think of my 150-word-or-less answer?

My boss keeps taking credit for my ideas. What should I do?

Annie Answers: Bosses that don't build up their teams are not great bosses. But until we have a magic wand to make others do the right thing, here are some options.

Do nothing: Especially if your job is generally satisfying and your boss is ok in other ways, you may decide to stay quiet and even offer up your ideas for the team. ...continue reading →

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Little_Red_Hen_Cover

In the story The Little Red Hen, the overworked and under-supported Mama Hen spends all her time cooking and cleaning while the rest of her household naps the day away.

Finally fed up after getting no help in tending the wheat seeds she eventually turns into flour and eventually a cake, she answers the question of "Who's going to eat this cake?" with, "Not any of you."

Of course, in the story, losing out on cake is just the trick needed to get her lazy, and now hungry, crew to start pitching in - presumably living cooperatively ever after from there on out. ...continue reading →

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Mitt_and_ball_-_CCShutterBugChef

Marriage Dilemma: Wife's resentment at husband's sports league commitments.

There's a good chance that when you first got together with your now-partner, him playing on a sports team with his friends was all part of the fun.

But now that you are married with small children and limited family time, this activity may feel like a luxury that's beyond the family budget and one that causes on-going resentment every time he grabs his mitt and heads out the door. ...continue reading →

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Bored_teen_CC_sunshinecityRaise your hand if you fear that your child's honest answer to 'What I did on my summer vacation' will be: slept a lot; did most of my socializing online; spent countless afternoons moping around and fighting with my siblings; played hundreds of hours of video games; lost a huge chunk of the previous year's learning - or worse yet - got into lots of trouble in the world when no one was looking.

Most tweens and pre-working teens love the thought of summer vacation. But once it gets going the sheer number of hours to fill can lead to 10+ hour, zombie-induced, video game marathons interspersed with wandering the world under the radar and getting into trouble. ...continue reading →

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Dad__I_10My dad is 82 years old. So with Father’s Day approaching, I decided to take a trip back to my childhood and contemplate this man and his influence on me. What I discovered was not what I expected but an insight that I have come to regard as possibly his greatest legacy.

It is a legacy that I admire from the sidelines. And one that I am impressed by far beyond these words.

My dad, Don Zirkel, has had a memorable life. He worked for 30+ years as a columnist and editor of a Catholic paper, as an ordained Deacon, and as the information officer of the NY Division of Human Rights. He has been an advocate for, as he would say, "the least and the lonely" all his life. ...continue reading →

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gate_latchFrom the moment our children are born we, as parents, are asked to be the gatekeepers for what and with whom our children come into contact.

Do they have access to plug outlets or the cords of mini-blinds? Are they being exposed to lead? Could they choke on that grape? And this doesn't even begin to consider who their childcare provider is and other, much bigger, concerns.

We are expected to ensure their safety, proper nutrition and physical development, their homework completion, academic success, chore responsibilities, acquisition of life skills, good morals and behavior and watch that they are not being bullied or bullying others. ...continue reading →

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YTML Front Cover 2012Excerpt from You'll Thank Me Later ~

A Guide to Raising Grateful Children

(& Why That Matters)

The Nature of Boys

According to research, girls seem to access gratitude easier and with a broader scope than boys. How much of this is biological and how much is cultural is hard to say but it is likely both.

Research has even found that American men value gratitude less than men of other cultures. The theory is that gratitude means that ...continue reading →

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Not_Greatest_Mom_-_CCodolphieI remember the morning I realized it. My sons were 6, 4 1/2 and 18 months old and had done something that had gotten me upset. What they did completely escapes me now which tells you how bad it must not have been, but for whatever reason I went beyond my usual aggravation to a crazy place.

Even now I can recall the rush of heat rising to my face. And then the roar. It was a furious, excruciating explosion of a person going insane. The tirade went on for at least several minutes as I exhausted my frustration and despair at this latest infraction. On and on I went, like a hurricane slowing down only to gather new force. ...continue reading →

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(Part 1 of a 3 part series on Being Prickly)

porcupine_CCDrew_AveryWe come into contact with prickly people all the time. It might be a scowl, a frosty attitude or a touchy disposition. It might be the choice of words as in 'What do you want?!'

Sometimes they serve us coffee. Sometimes they sit across from us at work or in committee meetings. Sometimes they live in our neighborhood or even worse! in our own homes.

And sometimes - more often then we'd like to admit - they are staring back at us in the mirror. ...continue reading →