Relight the candle

Five-year-old Tommy walked over to his mother, Judy. ‘Write my name for me, Mommy.” “Tommy, you know how to write your name.” “But I don’t ‘member,” he said. Tommy’s mother, Judy, phoned me, near tears, about this conversation.   Judy’s concern was that Tommy had forgotten something as seemingly simple as the three letters in Tom. […]

Add a little drama

May 27, 2013 – Summer is just about upon us and ideas for vacation fun can start to run low after a couple of weeks. One of our perennial favorites for serious merriment is the drama box. Our drama box began with remnants of Halloween costumes, old dress shoes (cowboy boots and red sparkle heels!), […]

Pull an art box out of your art

May 27, 2013 –  “I’m so bored.  There’s nothing to do.”  The-Rainy-Day-It’s-Too-Hot-Summer-Blahs.  Every year the blahs hit, and every year parents and grandparents wish they were more prepared. Get ready by having a special art box organized and ready to pull out on short notice.  For a small investment, about the cost of taking four […]

Better trickles down

(March 10, 2013) As we learn and grow interesting events occur.  Others around us grow and learn.  We position ourselves to help others through our newfound knowledge and skills. One of my friends when I was ten years old received a new Monopoly game as a gift.  Over the next year it sat on her […]

Avoid the Sugar Blues

(March 15, 2013) When we first got married, my husband’s habit was to drink a 16-ounce glass of orange juice for breakfast.  To that we added pancakes with maple syrup.  During my honeymoon year I found that by ten o’clock in the morning I was nauseous and sweating.  After weeks of these episodes, off I […]

Let the sunshine in

(March 15, 2013) How much of the sunshine vitamin, vitamin D3, do we need to maintain optimum health? The major biological function of vitamin D is to maintain normal blood levels of calcium and phosphorus. Vitamin D aids in the absorption of calcium, helping to form and maintain strong bones. It promotes bone mineralization in concert […]

When life seems out of control, take baby steps

(December 3, 2012) One of my go-to comedies, a movie that never fails to make me laugh and always helps me have an attitude adjustment, is What About Bob? with Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss.  The book, Baby Steps, figures prominently in the plot.  Baby Steps outlines Dr. Leo Marvin’s (Dreyfuss) therapy to help his […]

When we belong, we’re important

October 17, 2012 – We all need to feel like we belong.  And the most important place we need to feel like we belong is in our families.   It is from our family relationships that we build relationships within our schools, our churches, our neighborhoods and our communities…and beyond. According to Rudolph Dreikurs and Alfred […]

How setting limits creates freedom, allows creativity

At a neighborhood coffee, Cheryl announced that she had stopped eating sugar.  Several women gasped at the thought. “But that’s so limiting,” said one. Cheryl smiled and said, “Actually I find the limitation is quite freeing.  I don’t worry any more whether I should eat something or not.  Drawing the line at no sugar has […]

Welcome mistakes, be friendly with error

“Good judgment comes from experience and experience comes from bad judgment,” read the sign in the gift shop.   The sign reminded me of what I’ve learned about errors:  since mistakes are at the forefront of learning, it is best if we can be friendly with error and welcome mistakes for the learning opportunities that they […]