Relationship Tips
Investment in Marriage
Anything worth having is never free. As Francine and I raced around on a typical Saturday afternoon we found ourselves at the local shopping village together. Never one to waste the opportunity to gain a ‘good husband’ brownie point, I declared we should have a ‘coffee date’. Naturally, Francine obliged – she practically never says…
Read MoreOur Many Marriages
People heading towards separation and divorce often tell long-time marriage educators, Byron & Francine Pirola, that they simply aren’t the same person as when they married. Their unspoken reaction to this comment is “I should hope not!” Change is part of life. They explain how to create a marriage that endures through the seasons. Seasons…
Read MoreSleep Deprivation
Sleeping our way to a successful marriage Our granddaughter is three months old. She is pure delight and we are loving being Nonnina and Nonno. Naturally her parents are experiencing the ‘joy’ of extended sleep-deprivation; she is indeed very cute, but not so much at three in the morning. It takes us back. With relief…
Read MoreA marriage of contention
What seems hard in marriage is often doing us good A few weeks ago, we were invited to attend an event featuring Jordan Peterson. Curious to see this Canadian psychologist and academic, who was touring Australia with sell-out audiences, we took up the offer. One of the questions put to him by an audience member,…
Read MoreKicking the Bucket List
Some thirty years ago, before ‘Bucket Lists’ were even a thing, we came across an advertisement for The Maldives in a wedding magazine. We were engaged at the time and we fell in love instantly with the romanticism of white-washed huts on pristine private beaches. Committed to a simple wedding, and even simpler honeymoon (a…
Read MoreMarriage and the Plenary Council
Asking the Right Questions No matter where you live in the world, the Catholic Church is undergoing significant introspection and renewal. In Australia, one of the formal mechanisms is the Plenary Council – a process of national discernment culminating in a gathering of leaders and representatives in 2020. The question posed to the Australian church…
Read MoreFor Marriage and Country
Maybe it’s just us, but it often feels like the world around us is getting more hysterical about things we once would have taken in our stride. A misspoken word, a misplaced or even misinterpreted word in jest, or even a look the wrong way, can set off a storm of outrage – triggered, apparently.…
Read MoreGratitude: Plant Now, Reap Later
As we look forward to the new year, lots of us are making resolutions, setting goals, planning for the coming months. Most of our colleagues in the marriage education field are posting articles about setting relationship goals – an excellent idea, but we’d like to propose something different. It has been well established that gratitude…
Read MoreThe Smarter Way to Love
Falling in love is easy. Staying in love requires a conscious decision and focused investment. Loving the Smart way is easy when you know how. Our romance was a whirlwind of delight and passion. Over an intense two years, we courted with a dedicated focus: from the very beginning, it was clear that we were…
Read MoreA very grand Advent
It’s Advent again – the season of waiting. This year, our waiting takes on a special focus – we are awaiting the arrival of our first grandchild. Actually, Francine has been waiting for at least a decade for this child to arrive. Byron however, is still in deep denial – he’s far too young and…
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