365 Days of Giving Thanks

Day 310 - Thursday 9/26/13 - Grateful that what started as a really bad morning (read: so tired I could hardly breathe) turned into a very productive day!

Day 309 - Wednesday 9/25/13 -  Thankful that I showered last night and am able to go to bed early tonight.

Day 308 - Tuesday 9/24/13 - Grateful that the Pup's dog-walker was able to adjust the schedule, now providing an extra day of love to the Pup.

Day 307 - Monday 9/23/13 - LOVED running into a former student at the library and chatting it up with him.  He may be only in grade eight, but he sure has matured and it was great hearing him talk about his future!

Day 306 - Sunday 9/22/13 - Thankful that my errands were quick-ish this morning and allowed me the afternoon at home.

Day 305 - Saturday 9/21/13 - Grateful to have a day at home, in my jammies, with the Pup.  Yeah, I got my schoolwork done- it's easier to do it from the couch.

Day 304 - Friday 9/20/13 - So grateful that conferences are done.  They are always such an energy drain, purely because they require extra hours after an already full work day.

2nd Annual National Psychotherapy Day!

Exactly one year ago, Ryan Howes, Ph.D., launched the first ever National Psychotherapy Day.  In the past 365 days, the support for NPD has ballooned, and includes therapy greats like Irvin Yalom, among others.

Once again, I am strongly promoting and supporting NPD, because I believe, as do many others I know, that therapy has saved my life on so many levels.

The media has been all a buzz lately, attempting to tackle the "mental health crisis" that has sprung up across the nation.  Thing is, it hasn't really sprung up.  It's finally getting some attention.  Some much deserved attention, that sadly has sprung up as a result of numerous crises, often exacerbated by the media.

Mental health is equally as important as physical health.  There is no shame in going to the doctor when you are having physical challenges, why is it so shame-filled and embarrassing to go to the psychotherapist when you're having some emotional challenges?

Let me debunk one myth that I know is common, at least among my peers.

Therapy is not for the weak.  It's not for the broken.  It's not for the sissies, the wimps, the losers, the damaged, the lost......

It's for those who are strong.  It's for those who want to make changes in their lives.  It's for those who are looking to repair the broken parts of life, to move past the bullies, the naysayers, the ones lying in the gutter looking at the stars.  It's for the believers, the dreamers, the wishers, the hopers, the doers, the ones who think differently, who believe there is more in life than what they currently have.

Therapy is for everyone. 

Except the close minded.

So today, on this second annual National Psychotherapy Day, maybe you're ready to step up and be strong.  Maybe you're ready to accept some much needed help to get you to that place in your dreams.  Maybe you're already there, working with a therapist that supports you, and you're ready to step out of the proverbial therapy closet and invite others to give it a try.....

365 Days of Giving Thanks

Day 303 - Thursday 9/19/13 - Thankful that the Pup has developed patience when it comes to me getting home on time......

Day 302 - Wednesday 9/18/13 - Thirteen hour day.  With ten year olds.  I survived.  Enough said.

Day 301 - Tuesday 9/17/13 - So pleased that the first "late day" of the week went well.

Day 300 - Monday 9/16/13 - Grateful to my therapist.  Seriously.  I don't know where I'd be without her.

Day 299 - Sunday 9/15/13 - Pleasantly surprised that the corn roast truck I missed in the morning showed up at the cider mill in the afternoon while I happened to be there!  Yum!

Day 298 - Saturday 9/14/13 - Grateful to sleep in, and even more, to wake up with the sweetest Pup snuggled in close!

Day 297 - Friday 9/13/13 - Thankful for an impromptu happy hour with my BFF and her family - delicious dinner, too!

What's Up.

I know. 
I've been noticeably absent from my bloggy world.
And I miss it.
I miss YOU!
(Yes, you, reading this right now.)

I've been backed up on replying to comments.
I love replying to everyone's comments.
I will get to them, soon, I promise.

More than that,
though,
I miss my friends in this blog-o-sphere.
Yeah, I've been reading your blogs.
You've shared some great insights and posts.
And I want to thank you,
and encourage you to continue writing.
Cause I love reading your words.
And I'm sorry I haven't shared that lately.

I miss blogging.
I miss writing.
I miss you.

I'll be back.
Lots of posts are brewing in my head.
Next stop - my journal.
And
Eventually
The blog.

Thanks for sticking with me.
Means a lot.
More than you'll probably know.

Saturday Smiles

Thank you Shirt Woot!

365 Days of Giving Thanks

Day 296 - Thursday 9/12/13 - Loved seeing a double rainbow tonight!  What a nice treat to end an otherwise not-so-nice day.

Day 295 - Wednesday 9/11/13 - Grateful that my evening plans came through and a delicious dinner with good company was had at a fun food truck rally!

Day 294 - Tuesday 9/10/13 - Very thankful that tonight's parent night went so smoothly.

Day 293 - Monday 9/9/13 - Thankful that I have the Pup to snuggle with after a long day.

Day 292 - Sunday 9/8/13 - Happy to have found another Violet-friendly bakery - this one only a few miles from home!

Day 291 - Saturday 9/7/13 - SO thrilled to finally see my nutritionist!  It was only three weeks, but it felt like forever......

Day 290 - Friday 9/6/13 - Thankful that the first week of school went so smoothly!

19 years ago

This week is Suicide Prevention Awareness Week.

19 years ago, I planned my own death.

Had the plans worked out, it would have actually been 19 years ago today that I took my own life.

Alas, my carefully constructed, well-laid plans were foiled.


When I saw this postcard on PostSecret's site this week, I had to share it.  Because it is so very, very true, not only for me, but for many others, as made clear by the response it's gotten.

Remember a while ago when everyone was all about the "six degrees of Kevin Bacon" and such?  Did you know that suicide intimately impacts six people, which, when you think about it, means everyone is six people away from knowing someone who has lost their life to suicide.....

Scary.  Sad.  And preventable.

Among many organizations supporting and promoting prevention awareness, DoSomething has compiled a list of eye-opening facts about suicide.

Always remember, you are who you are, no one can replace you, and the world needs you, no matter what the darkness in your mind tells you.

World Suicide Prevention Day

Today marks World Suicide Prevention Day.  This whole week, actually, is suicide awareness week and there are tons of blogs and sites doing all sorts of things to raise awareness of and funds to prevent suicide.

One such blog is Post Secret, which is a favorite of mine.  They are working with IMAlive to raise money to provide 24/7 crisis support to anyone in need.

Last year, I posted some statistics and resources about suicide.  The stats are still mind boggling. 

<--- This one, in particular, crushes me to think about.  There is still so much of a stigma around mental health, that people are willing to risk everything to keep their mental issues invisible, which often ends in abysmal results.

Speak up.  Be heard.  You do matter.  You can make a difference.

It may be over 30 years, but I still feel the effects of the death of my uncle, whom I never met, as even all these years later, his suicide still haunts my mother and family......  The suicide of one person ripples well into the world....

365 Days of Giving Thanks

Day 289 - Thursday 9/5/13 - Thankful for the delicious treat I gifted myself - my first caramel apple of the season!

Day 288 - Wednesday 9/4/13 - Thankful for a great evening with my BFF - with our busy schedules, it was really nice to be able to sit and catch up with no time restraints.

Day 287 - Tuesday 9/3/13 - Grateful that the first day was relatively uneventful.

Day 286 - Monday 9/2/13 - LOVED being able to spend the entire day with the Pup. Nice break before a hectic week!

Day 285 - Sunday 9/1/13 - Appreciate the calmness in which my DBT handled my disheveled-ness today.

Day 284 - Saturday 8/31/13 - Thankful that I kept my massage.  After all the physical labor happening in the classroom this week, it was a much needed treat.

Day 283 - Friday 8/30/13 - Grateful to have finished my room!  Bring on the kids!

Four Leaf Clovers

As a kid, I remember spending what felt like hours searching for the elusive four leaf clover.  On more than one occasion, I got lucky, and found one!  It was always exhilarating, after crawling around in the grass long enough to have green-stained knees, coming up with one of those little gems like you were the champion of the world.

Four leaf clovers.

Technically, a mutation of the normal, more typical, three leaf clover.  The regular one.  The way most clovers are made.

We scour the ground in search of the odd one out.  The unique.  The different.  The lucky.  Finding a three leaf clover is ordinary.  Everyone is a three leaf clover.  The four leaf clover.  That's different.  That's lucky.

Even though, technically, it's mutated.  It's deformed.  It's grossly different than the rest.

I've been thinking about this for a while.  How it connects to my body.  To my eating disorder.  To recovery.

I want that four leaf clover.  It's different.

Yet.

I hate this body in which I reside for that same reason.

Cause it's different.

I want to be normal.  I want to be like that three leaf clover.  Fitting in with everyone else.  One of the crowd.

Or do I?

If everyone is in search of that one, so-called lucky, four leaf clover...... maybe it's time to start rethinking this.  Maybe being different is like being that four leaf clover...... maybe it means some one will actually pick me, and find me to be their lucky charm.....

Maybe I need to pick me first......