Notes from the Counselor on Quality Time

Notes from the counselor on Quality Time 

Dr. Muriel Redman McKenney on Quality Time 

Relationships were what made up Dr. McKenney’s life from the very moment she was born. Not all of the relationships were resolved in ways that she would have found amenable. But in time all relationships are resolved. 

The relationship Muriel’s family had with there separate religious practices lead them to be the target of the Clan in the 1920’s. Their first house was burned to the ground by Clansmen who thought that mixed marriages between Protestants and Catholics were immoral. 

Muriel wasn’t born when the house was torched. Relationships were already affecting her future. 

Her father was a World War I veteran who had been gassed when his cavalry unit got close to the front lines. His infirmities would affect his relationship with his wife for the entire course of the marriage, right up to his death. 

Her mother was raised in a well of Boston which had access to every modern activity going on. She moved with her new husband to a rural portion of Maine, known as Mars Hill. She hated being away from the life of the city. This would affect her relationships for the rest of her life. 

The constant tension between her parents was more of a problem for Muriel’s relationships than the lingering mixed marriage issues. She partially solved this dilemma by taking part in religious services and events from both religious groups. 

She showed that her relationship to her parents was more important than how they chose to believe and express their beliefs. 


These are the notes of Dr. Muriel R. McKenney, The Counselor, on Quality Time: 

We hear a lot about “quality time” these days, as opposed to “quantity time.” Most of us understand “quality time” to mean “relating in highly valued and meaningful way, although of limited duration.”