My View from the Top of the World

  The other day, I went over to talk to a group of high school students - future teachers - about emotional trauma, and trauma informed teaching strategies.  Towards the middle of the discussion, as we were moving in the direction of secondary trauma in caregivers, the kids were able to identify that they are, indeed, experiencing trauma, right now, every day.   You certainly are!  What trauma are you experiencing? "We're living during a pandemic." Yes. We. Are.   According to the American Psychiatric Association, trauma is "an emotional response to a terrible event."  Additionally, a "person may experience trauma as a response to any event that they find physically or emotionally threatening or harmful." Important to note:  individuals respond differently to different life events.  It seems like it should not need to be said, but it needs to be said:  Something that affects me might not affect you in the same way. So, with our curr...

  And on this World Kindness Day, 2020, There's not much more that needs to be said. Always stay humble and kind. Take care of those you love.  Take care of you. 💖

  Seven years ago today, I lost my first love.  Less than 48 hours after a catastrophic stroke, I held his hand, and whispered into his ear that he has been the best dad ever.  That afternoon, after Mum and I had returned from the hospital, I went for a run (as if that's not the weirdest thing ever - you come home from the hospital without your loved one, and you're expected to just carry on without them...) As I ran, I made up my mind that I would honor Dad, and make him proud by my actions every day for the rest my life.  "Be the things you loved most about the people who are gone..."  Dad was a lot of things.  He was a sports fan, a decent golfer, and a terrific chef. He enjoyed music of all kinds, from Beethoven to Elton John, to Alan Jackson, to Tina Turner.  He loved a good joke and often found his own the funniest of them all.  He was well traveled and appreciated everything that another culture had to offer - especially the cuisine, but al...