Mari-Louise Speirs
Bio
I'm a happily married Mum to four adult children and Nana to six grandchildren. I love writing, reading, movies, dining out, and spending quality time with my family.Stories (10)
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I’ve Just Learned That My Father Is a Narcissist, and I’m Angry!
I’ve just discovered that my father is a narcissist, and I still can’t believe it. My father is in his late 90s, but don’t let that fool you. This is not some doddery old man who doesn’t know what day of the week it is. In fact, my father is kind of a miracle man, inasmuch as he’ll be getting his telegram from the Queen in just a couple of years, but he’s still the fittest person I know. He swims every day of the year, regardless how cold or wet it may be, and many days during winter he’s the only person out there in the icy cold water. After his swim, he gets on his stationary bike and pedals away for 30 minutes, then finishes off with some stretching exercises. He plays golf on a regular basis and can hold his own with golfers 20 and 30 years younger than himself. He doesn’t need to wear glasses, he certainly doesn’t need a hearing aid, and he even has all his own teeth! He lives in his own home, mows his own lawns and tends to his garden himself. Every day he gets into his car and takes himself shopping and out for lunch. And, to top it all off, he is an excellent cook and is perfectly capable of taking care of his home. Yes, I sound proud of him, and in a way, I am.
By Mari-Louise Speirs7 years ago in Families
Bulimia: The Shame, The Guilt, and the Life-Threatening Damage. Top Story - March 2018.
Bulimia is not proud! It doesn’t care how rich you are, how old you are, or where you live; it doesn’t even care whether you’re married or single, a Uni student, stay-at-home Mum, or in charge of a huge corporation.
By Mari-Louise Speirs8 years ago in Psyche
My Worst Date
I’m so glad that I finally get to tell my #MyWorstDate story. I’m now 71 years of age, but when I was a teenager around 18 years of age I left the country town where my family lived and moved to the "Big City" —Perth, the place most teenagers in Western Australia dreamed of spending their teenage years. I loved everything about Perth—its lights, the nightclubs, the music, my work—everything! I changed jobs quite a lot, simply because back in the 60s we could move around and get well-paying jobs whenever and wherever we wanted. At the time my secretarial skills were very good, so my girlfriends and I had a great social life.
By Mari-Louise Speirs8 years ago in Humans
My Father Hated Me
I’ve titled this article “My Father Hated Me” but in fact it was a lot worse than that: the truth is my father despised me and everything about me. As I write this I hope I’m not sounding too much like a victim, and to this day I still wonder if a lot of this is in my head, but then I remember: I know the truth, because this has been my life ever since I was a little girl. For reasons unknown to me, my father has always had an intense dislike of me, and that includes just the sight of me. I often wonder: What do I remind you of; or what was going on when I was a baby that turned you so against me? But, I don’t know the answer.
By Mari-Louise Speirs8 years ago in Families
Longevity and Good Health Can Go Together – Here’s How!
I just received a phone call from my father saying that he and his wife have just returned home from their latest excursion – a week’s holiday in the north of our state where it’s a little warmer than the winter they’ve been experiencing in their hometown. What’s rather unique about this story is that both my father and stepmother are 96 years of age! My father drove the 6-plus hours to their destination, and each day they were there they swam early each morning and played nine holes of golf before lunch. Admittedly, my stepmother drove the golf buggy while my Dad played golf, but my point is that this couple have just spent a glorious week’s holiday playing in the sun, without requiring any assistance whatsoever.
By Mari-Louise Speirs8 years ago in Longevity
Step-Children Don’t Like You? Don’t Worry, It’s Normal. Top Story - September 2017.
I left an abusive marriage more than 30 years ago when my three children were quite young. The following two years were spent repairing the damaged relationships with my sons, who had all but been ignored during the travesty that was my marriage. Even though I vowed never to remarry, I met a wonderful man who was the exact opposite of my former husband and eventually we were married. Our relationship was perfect and my children were very happy. In short, we had the perfect family. One-by-one my sons asked if they could call Tom "Dad" and of course no-one was happier than their new dad. Tom and I agreed at the beginning of our relationship that I alone would be responsible for disciplining the children because I was concerned they may resent him, so Tom basically became a good friend to my three sons.
By Mari-Louise Speirs8 years ago in Families
Parenting Without Using Physical Punishment
As promised in my last article, I’d like to share some ways of parenting children without using physical punishment that I learned both as a parent and a grandparent. This article is not designed to change your beliefs about smacking children: if you believe physical punishment works, then my goal is not to change your opinion, because as I stated in my first article I too used to hit my children. However, I do believe there are many parents out there who are looking for an alternative way of raising their kids. This one is for you!
By Mari-Louise Speirs8 years ago in Families
To Smack or Not to Smack?. Top Story - September 2017.
The debate on smacking is an interesting one in as much as there are not many fence-sitters on this subject: people either have no problem with it at all, saying “I was smacked as a child and it didn’t do me any harm” while others are vehemently against violence of any sort against children. Just using the word “violence” evokes very strong feelings in many who hit their children because they don’t consider smacking a child to be violence. The “no hitting” camp generally believe that we hit our children out of instantaneous anger, frustration, and basically because we don’t know what else to do.
By Mari-Louise Speirs8 years ago in Families
