With Thanksgiving last week, I've been reflecting on what I am grateful for this year. To be honest, it's been a long, somewhat arduous year. I hate to say that because I got married this year. Marriage is a joyful event, right? Yes, in many ways. I am truly happy to be married to Mark. He [...]
Last week I wrote about avoiding or approaching difficult situations and relationships. I spoke of how we all sometimes avoid challenges by: leaving, going silent, diving into distractions (technology/work/television, etc.) or using drugs and alcohol. This week I want to talk about how to approach the things that scare us. Fortify first First, let's prepare by [...]
Often the easy way out is to avoid something hard. We all have moments of weakness when we opt for that path. We also have moments of courage when we move toward a difficult situation or conversation. In my experiences of parenting, marriage, coaching, writing, working within the juvenile justice system and as a special education [...]
A landmark longitudinal study done in San Diego by Drs. Vincent Felitti and Dr. Robert Anda and colleagues, links adverse childhood experiences (ACES) with increased risk for heart disease, addiction, cancer and auto-immune diseases, to name a few. The book, The Deepest Well: Healing the Long-Term Effects of Childhood Adversity came across my radar twice in the [...]
Some of you may have noticed. My posts are a tad shorter lately. I am working every day at the local high school as a paraprofessional. As you can imagine, my after school time is now devoted to errands, tasks and social obligations I did not get to do during the workday. My intention is to [...]
How are you at asking for help? Does it come easy to you? Do you trust you will be assisted? Does it make you feel anxious? Do you try to avoid it? I have discovered that asking for help sets off a cascade of emotions and defenses for me. When Mark and I first started dating, [...]
