Intimate relationships can seem like such a mystery, especially if you grew up in a family where connection and communication were neither modeled nor taught. We all sense the deep and rich possibility of meaningful connection and yet the means of attaining and maintaining connection can be elusive. If we only know that which we have seen, we may set our sights too low and keep our strategies too simple. If one-ness is our goal, then we must learn to think differently about our relationships and how we grow them.

The past week has been difficult for my family and me. On March 3rd, we lost the patriarch of the Birkemeier family just 21 days before his 89th birthday.

Ok, so I’m not really at the North Pole, but my family would argue our house does looks like a Hallmark Movie is being filmed here. (Sorry, not sorry.)