Learning to Enjoy the Little Things
September is my “new year.” The busy summer is over, and I have some time to rest, reflect, and regroup – three things I have never mastered. I’ve been drawn this month to books that continue to give me the same message loud and clear: slow down, savor, be present, be mindful. Those words are…
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Final Conversations Before College
Today I traveled 2,326 miles to drop off my youngest daughter for her freshman year of college. After a few days helping her get settled and procuring a mattress pad, a desk lamp, and other dorm-room necessities, I’ll get on a plane and return home, leaving her here, 2,326 miles away from me. Perhaps you can…
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The Power of Positive Words
Well, I don’t know the child that was returned to me on Saturday. It definitely wasn’t the child I dropped off two weeks earlier. The only logical explanation is that your camp is magic. Magic transformed my scared, sad, not always happy boy, into a confident, smiling, laughing young man. -Email from a Camp Parent I have…
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Dear Parent Hitting the Refresh Button (again) to View Camp Photos
Dear Parent Hitting the Refresh Button (again) to View Camp Photos, I know your pain. I’m on your side of the computer this week, waiting for a glimpse of one of my children at his camp. So far, I’ve seen only one blurry, side-view of my son in the far background of a picture of…
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Helping Kids through their “Low Point”
During one of our final training sessions with counselors, we ask them to think back to their “low point” as a child or adolescent and remember what, if anything, caring adults did to help them through. It’s a great reminder to counselors to think about the developmental stage of the campers they’ll be working with…
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Connection Before Correction
Because I know our counselors may not retain every bit of information covered in training, there are a few concepts I will continue to focus on and share with them throughout the summer. One of those is the importance of connection before correction. I’m convinced that developing positive, close relationships with children serves as a…
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Celebrating Strengths
What are the qualities you like best about yourself? If you’re like me, I’ll bet you haven’t thought about that question much. You may tend to focus more on the things you don’t like about yourself or the qualities you see in other people that you wish you had. One of my favorite quotes is…
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7 Reasons to Get Outside
Next to unplugging, one of my favorite things to talk about is spending time outside. In fact, I believe the combination of unplugging AND spending time outside may be the answer to many of life’s ills. I know that combination works for me. During the summer, I spend most of my time outdoors. As a…
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Questions for Connection
When the calendar turns to spring, my mind turns full steam into counselor training mode. I can’t help it. After 31 years of preparing counselors for their summer working with kids at camp, I can’t help but be über-focused on gathering tools to help prepare them to be engaged with campers, thrive at camp, and…
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Conversations Before College: Preventing Sexual Assault
This is the third installment of my “Conversations Before College” series, written in honor of my daughter and her friends who graduate from high school this Sunday. My hope is that this information will spur parents to have these important conversations with their high school and college-aged kids. “It is estimated that the percentage…
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The Uncool Mom
One of the numerous times I’ve made my son mad this year was the day I told him he had to go to school when a bunch of other parents were not making their kids go. Here’s the story: My son’s soccer team had a tournament on the last Friday of school before a break.…
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Learning to Breathe
I learned to breathe a few weeks ago. Let me explain. While I’ve been breathing my whole life, I found out a few weeks ago, during a counseling session with a neuro-therapist, that I haven’t been doing it correctly. I spent a lot of my time doing shallow breathing, often while simultaneously feeling agitated. I…
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