November 19 2018

By: Jackie Hook
Monday, November 19, 2018

A counselor ed class of Penn State graduate students recently spent a couple of hours asking one another meaningful questions such as: What is something very few people know about you? Did your heritage play a role in your upbringing, and if so, how? Is there a particular event that drew your family closer together?

The class professor texted me to let me know how much fun the students were having.

An extended family gathered around their dining room table - a rare occurrence in their busy lives - and shared their Thanksgiving meal together. While relaxing at the table between the main course and dessert, they asked each other thought-provoking questions. What hobby or activity makes you lose track of time? Who was your favorite teacher and what do you remember about him/her? As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up and why?

From the children to the grandparents, everyone had a good time.

The mother of a newly blended family brought up various topics at family meals to encourage discussion. Subjects such as: Describe the most adventurous thing you’ve ever done. What made you laugh so hard you cried? What does your perfect day look like?

It was happy family bonding time.

And what was present in each of these scenarios? The Have the Talk of a Lifetime deck of cards – 50 questions that will help you learn more about your loved ones. To find out where you can get your own deck of cards, visit our Time for Family, Time for Talk page.

(Adapted from the article first printed in the Gazette’s “Mature Lifestyles” section November 1 -7, 2018)

Leave a comment
Name*:
Email:
Comment*:

Comments

Please wait

Previous Posts

March 27 2023

To close this month’s theme of “Grief is Loss in Pieces,” I’ll share these words by author Nick Cave: I have learned that things get better, in time. I know that fundamentally.... I also know th...

March 20 2023

Another way to interpret our theme, “Grief is Loss in Pieces,” is to think of how grief can break us into many pieces. Our work in grief is putting those pieces back together. There is a wonderful ...

March 13 2023

As I continue to think about our theme of “Grief is Loss in Pieces,” I’m reminded of the many stories people have shared with me about their grief journeys. Some talk about how at first they were n...

March 6 2023

This month our theme is “Grief is Loss in Pieces.” Many of you have heard of Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’ stages of grief – denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. These “stages” were neve...

February 27 2023

I close this month’s discussion of “Ask Your Heart/Quiet Your Thoughts” with this quote by teacher and author Spring Washam:  Listen to your heart and trust the direction you are being pulled...

February 20 2023

In order to ask your hearts and quiet your thoughts, here are a few more things you can do: Talk about your grief to make more space in your head. Journal and move your thoughts from the inside...

February 13 2023

As we continue with our theme of “Ask Your Heart/Quiet Your Thoughts,” I want to talk about ways to quiet your thoughts so you can ask your heart. The first way that comes to mind is to breathe. Br...

February 6 2023

This month our theme is “Ask Your Heart/Quiet Your Thoughts.” We live in a culture that seems to value the head over the heart. As I’ve written before, I appreciate the Native American Medicine Whe...

January 30 2023

As we close this month’s theme of “Timeless Healing,” I leave you with a quote by Etty Hillesum. I think this quote speaks to the healing that takes place inside of ourselves outside of time and ti...

January 23 2023

This month’s theme of “Timeless Healing” can be thought of in two ways. The one we’ve already discussed is that there is no prescribed timeline. Another is that healing can feel without time. In mo...