No Difference (what we can learn from a poem in a children's book)...

Listen: https://youtu.be/G4TpdfIbSfE

This pandemic has had me cleaning a lot more than usual... I mean a lot more. Part of my Pandemic List was tackling my attic.

As I got into the project, I found all sorts of things from the past. One thing I unearthed was a book. Not just any book, it was Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein.

It was one of my favorite books when I was in elementary school...I probably checked it out every trip to the library if no one else wanted it that day.

This edition I own is the silver cover 30th anniversary edition. Tattered, used and bookmarked because it wasn't purchased to collect. It was bought so the kids and I could read it together.

I cleaned at least 1/3 of the attic and it got sorted somewhat, lots of trash went out. That was back in April, it's now too hot up there for cleaning. But the book stayed here and made its way downstairs. I have flipped through several times to revisit the poems.

This one in particular was the one i just came across last week.

I did not know some of these poems were out there recorded being read aloud.

It's fitting....and it's written for a child...

And then again, I don't think this was meant just for children.

Today and always, please see where you can be a healing, helping, loving nature to someone who needs it today. And if you can find it within you, please reach out to someone who is not like you and ask them to teach you about what their experiences are like. We already know our own.

Back to School Anxiety: Bullying

Download “School Boy Being Stressed” by David Castillo Dominici via freedigitalphotos.net I recently wrote about how to help your child if they’re struggling with going back to school because they were bullied. My biggest most important tip was to listen, because I honestly could not write a ‘How-to-make-them-not-afraid’ column. Frankly I thought that was absurd. Fear is sometimes real. Anxiety is sometimes truly there, and for a good reason. Our job as parents isn’t to try to make it go away, it’s to try to find out the true source of those worrisome feelings. If you’d like to read more, click here. And if you’re child is struggling to find excitement about the new school year, don’t deny it, just accept it and move forward gently. Here’s some more on bullying: Family Matters Links: A Touching Story/Song Bullying: A thing of the past A Peace Poem By My Teenage Daughter A Deeper Insight into My Thoughts on People Who Bring Harm to Others Other Links: Stop Bul

6 Ways to Support Teens and Mental Health (Column Related)

Enjoying a trip to see family and exploring the outdoors. May was Mental Health Awareness Month. It’s over now, but it shouldn’t be. I’m not a medical professional or anything even close, but I am convinced that every person on the planet (no matter age, economic status, profession, race, or gender) is vulnerable to events that can alter their state of mind. If you’re not sure about this, just research the increase in the amount of people seeking psychological help due to the pandemic, then try getting an appointment with a therapist or counselor that doesn’t require weeks or months on a wait list. There are so many things damaging our mental health that we don’t even realize. Add underlying issues not yet detected and undiagnosed…it’s a bad situation made worse, and the need for support more urgent. Many teens are struggling with mental health issues right now and many of us don’t even know it. How could we? Not too many teens feel comfortable talking to adults about ‘their stuff’ a

Green Punch Buggy....!!!!

Green Punch Buggy...No Punch Back! As I was writing this blog post, my son came to me showing off his Lego creation. And don't you know I got hit at least five times since on my computer screen was displaying at least five different punch buggies, of five different colors thanks to Google Images. (Bad timing I'm thinking...) How can we possibly have world peace with these silly cars in the world!? ;) Don't the owners of these cute-but-obnoxious-cars understand that driving these things around town promotes violence!? ;) Anyhow.... The original purpose of this blog was to ask parents everywhere this question: Do you find yourself saying 'PUNCH BUGGY *BLANK-COLOR*! ' to yourself, even when the kids are not in the car??? I do! Isn't it funny how those games we used to play as a child are still around? I bet our parents say the same thing.... HAPPY FRIIIIIIDAAAAYYYY! P.S. I got hit at least ten more times, since as my son stood beside

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