Relationships – Page 2 – Melissa Schlies

Five More Ways to Stay Sane During Election Season

Have I ever told you, fall is my favorite season? The beautiful colors the leaves on the trees turn mesmerizes me. The weather is finally cool enough to bake, which is convenient because I love almost anything baked with locally grown apples or pumpkin. And there is just something in the air that makes me want to walk downtown to the farmers market, or find a hiking trail nearby. Fall is fantastic. Only fall is also when, every four years, our country faces its most crucial election season. Yards are marked with candidate signs. Social Media is more politically charged [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2020-10-14T23:42:06+00:00October 15th, 2020|Categories: Anxiety, Balance, Conflict, Fear, Habit Making, Lead, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, Making Decisions, Relationships, Self Care|Comments Off

This Election Season, Don’t Forget To Love

Last week, Tony and I traveled through the Midwest to see family. For most of our trip, the highways and turnpikes we drove down were lined with big red or white barns and beautiful cornfields. Then, when we headed off those long stretches of road, there were more farms. Only this time, their homes, front yards, and driveways were dotted or emblazoned with red, white and blue— Political signs. Big and small plastic rectangles, with the words TRUMP or BIDEN printed in all capitol letters, hung from windows or stuck out of patches of dying grass. As if reminding us [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2020-10-11T22:04:53+00:00October 12th, 2020|Categories: Hope, Rejection, Relationships, Self Care, Social Distancing|Comments Off

On Mountaintop Tea Parties & Remembering What’s Most Important

Friends, I have one last travel story for this month. Hope you enjoyed this series, as much as I did. And, if you have any travel stories of your own you’d like to share—please do so in the comments section! One of my favorite travel memories, didn’t happen to me. In other words, what I am about to tell you is not an experience of my own. Rather, it is one I witnessed on the top of Cadillac Mountain, in Maine, just before sunrise. Now, I realize most people on their vacations rarely ever see the sunrise. But, as it [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2020-09-27T19:54:43+00:00September 28th, 2020|Categories: Acceptance, Balance, FOMO, Food, Relationships, Social Distancing, Staycation, Travel|Comments Off

Why It’s Important to Make Time for “Us” —Even In the Time of Covid

This past weekend, Tony and I took a trip with our closest friends to the Finger Lakes in New York. There we had “socially distanced” wine tastings. We hiked the gorge in Watkins Glen with our masks on. And we ate almost all of our meals at the little cottage we rented. Proving that traveling in the time of COVID is challenging, but not impossible. If someone was to ask me and Tony what makes our marriage not only work, but also thrive, we’d probably tell them two things. In seasons like these, travel can often feel like a luxury. [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2020-09-23T21:05:08+00:00September 24th, 2020|Categories: Adulting, Balance, Habit Making, Health, Lead, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, Marriage, Mental Health, Relationships, Travel|Comments Off

This Week, We Turn Ten

Ten years ago, this week, we said, “We do.” In other words, “We’re in.” For the adventure, the joy, and the highs of accomplishments earned. For the experiences we never thought we’d have, made better by enjoying them together. Only, that is not all. We also said, “We’re in” for the mundane. The days that string together as boring as iceberg lettuce lined up at the grocery store. “We’re in” for the dark days of struggle and loss. And “we’re in” for traversing the breathtaking lows we didn’t see coming. We’re in this thing called life, together. Ten years ago, [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2020-06-24T19:40:57+00:00June 25th, 2020|Categories: Lead, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, Marriage, Relationships|Comments Off

Six Ways to Handle Conflict With Your Spouse—During Quarantine

A few weeks ago, on a Saturday morning, one of us woke up to the other scrolling through their phone. Tony and I said good morning, asked each other how we slept, and then both of us got lost in our socials. For a while our conversation revolved around what we were seeing online. Then both of us put down our phones. We talked about what we wanted to do that day, and a few other things, before stumbling into THE CONVERSATION. No matter what stage of marriage you’re in, every couple has a conversation that needs to be had. [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2020-04-29T23:35:58+00:00April 30th, 2020|Categories: Conflict, Lead, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, Marriage, Relationships, Social Distancing|Comments Off

Five Important Lessons I’m Learning About Friendship

Have you ever been to a school dance or wedding reception, where the DJ was really good? Where not only did they have a phenomenal playlist, but they also had fantastic transitions from song to song? When this happens, the music literally doesn’t stop, and neither does the dancing. Sometimes, I wish it was like this with friendships. Similar to the way a DJ smoothly changes from one song to the next, I wish our friends would move in and out of our lives just as seamlessly. Ok, truthfully: I wish some friendships would never end. Period. But because people [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2020-02-27T11:56:27+00:00February 27th, 2020|Categories: Adulting, Friendship, Lead, Leadership, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, Relationships, Self Care|Comments Off

Common Place Friends: Why Some of Our Friendships Don’t Last

A little over eight years ago, Tony and I left our church. It happens all the time. People leaving their church. A person, couple, or family decides they don’t fit, realizes they aren’t growing spiritually, or they get hurt by the leaders or other congregants, and they leave. Sometimes it’s messy, all the time it’s sad. For Tony and me, it was both. The fact that I’d worked at our church for over seven years, meant it came with its fair share of hurt and messiness. But then add in the fact that we each came to the church as [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2020-02-24T11:57:19+00:00February 24th, 2020|Categories: Acceptance, Adulting, Change, Friendship, grief, Habit Making, Relationships|2 Comments

Six Rules For Fighting Fair In Marriage

Here is the thing they don’t tell you when you get married: some of the rules of your relationship change along the way. Or rather, you and your spouse keep changing so how you handle crisis and times of stress isn’t always the same. Even if your marriage is good, you can hit a rough patch and be completely blindsided. It is kind of like being on a long road trip with each other. Sometimes, you or your spouse can handle getting lost and even losing a tire with complete patience and grace—for an entire stretch of your journey. But [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2020-02-18T16:04:59+00:00February 20th, 2020|Categories: Adulting, Change, Conflict, Lead, Leadership, Learn, Love, Love Learn Lead, Marriage, Relationships|Comments Off

The Unspoken Secret to a Successful Marriage

One of Tony’s favorite things to do is to watch romantic movies with me. And by favorite I mean least favorite. As in, he doesn’t like most movies where the main focus is a love story. He says romantic movies are predictable, cheesy, and always end the same way. Yet even when I completely agree (like when he’s talking about Hallmark Movies), I still love them. There is something about two people learning to love each other that gets me every time. And my favorite part of these movies is when the two people in love do this one thing: [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2020-02-16T14:09:09+00:00February 17th, 2020|Categories: Adulting, Conflict, Marriage, perseverance, Relationships|Comments Off

Five More Ways to Stay Sane During Election Season

Why It’s Important to Make Time for “Us” —Even In the Time of Covid

This Week, We Turn Ten

Five Important Lessons I’m Learning About Friendship

Common Place Friends: Why Some of Our Friendships Don’t Last

Six Rules For Fighting Fair In Marriage

The Unspoken Secret to a Successful Marriage

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