To school counselors and social workers... a week early

We were told a surprise guest would be joining us at 10 am.

Our guessing got us nowhere.

Finally, after a productive hour and a half of group work, the door opened wide and in walked... members of the School Board.

Now, the immediate reaction in a room full of counselors and social workers to the arrival of the School Board is usually one of anticipatory trepidation. What did we do this time? Or, for that matter, what haven't we done?

This time though, the ensuing announcement was one of appreciation and celebration. They told us that next week is National School Counselor Week. The visitors were there to present us with Certificates of Appreciation and to read to us an official proclamation.

Once in awhile, the bigwigs get it right.

Thank you to all school counselors and social workers everywhere! You deserve it.

I should know.

To me?

Sometimes it feels good to be thanked yourself...

5th Grade Boy to me today: "Ms. C., thank you for letting me listen while you problem solved with my friends. Now I know what to do with my little brother."

To a 5th grader...

Last week I decided to check in with a 5th grader who I worked with regularly last year.  She's been struggling with some pretty major changes in her life.

While we were talking, she started to tell me something and then stopped.  Then finally she said, "I'm going to make a WWMCD bracelet!"

"What's WWMCD?" I asked.

She smiled and then replied: "What would Ms. C. do?"

Thank you for making my day.

To everything and everyone I am thankful for...

Although I've been a little remiss on my posts, I would truly be lacking if I skipped out on a Thanksgiving post.  The thing is, I have so much to be thankful for that I cannot dedicate this post to just one person or one thing.  With that in mind, I've decided to write a list!

I am thankful for:

1.  My parents:  Whenever I tell anyone about my childhood, they are always so impressed at how loving, generous, kind, and supportive my parents are.  These are always wonderful moments for me, because they remind me of how lucky I am to have them. 

2.  Emily:  Though we didn't always get along, I'm so glad we do now!!  I love that we spend time together because we want to, not because it's "family" time.  I admire how you pick goals to work on and actually follow through!  I'm fortunate to have a sister that I enjoy spending time with and also look up to.  

3.  Steph:  You are still one of the most important inspirations in my life.  You're such a beautiful person with a gorgeous smile and infectious laugh.  I love you! 

4.  Greg:  You're sitting right behind me, so it's hard to write anything TOO nice because then I'll never hear the end of it.  But anyway, thank you for being so supportive, for eating all of my culinary experiments and telling me they taste delicious regardless, and for being so willing to try anything... even the silly traditions of my family.

5.  Having a job that I love:  I hear and read about people struggling to find work or finding it and hating what they do.  Although my job is not without it's stressful moments, I am so happy to say that I continue to love it day after day.  

6.  My wonderful friends, old and new:  This year has been a year of changes.  Friends moving away, meeting new friends, becoming closer to the ones still here...  The long and the short of it is I feel so lucky to have you in my life.  You all serve a different purpose in my life, but nonetheless you are in it for a reason.

7.  My Kitchenaide Mixer:  I love it.  I've always wanted one and now I finally have one.  It doesn't disappoint!  For those of you who know me,  you know that I LOVE cooking for people.  Sharing a meal with friends or family is probably the most heartwarming experience I could ever have.  Sure, I love my Kitchenaide Mixer, but really I'm thankful for what it represents - food, family, friends.

8.  Travel:  This year I've been extremely fortunate to have been able to travel.  I visited Belize, Guatemala, New York (twice!), New Orleans, California, Oregon... Traveling and experiencing new cultures enriches my life.  I know that it is a privilege to be able to travel and so I am forever grateful to have these opportunities.

9.  Learning new skills:  This year I've been trained to instruct Roots of Empathy, am learning how to use yoga with kids, perfected my stick shift driving, enhanced my cooking skills... I love learning!

10.  LUA.  

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

To great neighbors...

For those of you not living in Seattle, you may have heard that our lovely city has been hit by a "triple arctic blast" as the news reporters called it.  What this actually means is that Seattlites have been stranded all around the city, as no one here actually knows how to drive in the snow.  And by nobody, I mean nobody.  Half the city owns up to this fact ("Snow scares me! I hate driving in it!") and the other half complains that no one knows how to drive in it and then attempts a hill they really shouldn't have.

The flip side of this is that snow days mean more time snuggled up at home in comfy clothes with the heat on high and drinking hot cocoa.  Preferably with marshmallows, and for me, preferably with soy milk.

Snow days also mean that the company you keep consists of whoever lives in your house (so long as they were able to get home when the snow hit) and your closest neighbors.

Ours happen to be Kadi and Ryan.  

Over the past two days, we've been texting and visiting back and forth between our apartments (they live two floors down).  Then yesterday, after a fabulous snowball fight at the Olympic Sculpture Park, we decided to have a communal dinner.  

We decided that Kadi and Ryan would make split pea soup and I would bake biscuits.

A few hours later, dinner was served and it was fantastic!

There is nothing I love more than eating wonderful food with wonderful friends.

Kadi and Ryan,

Thanks for being fabulous neighbors!!  I love having you live so close and we will surely miss you when you move to Aspen.

Cookies and cinnamon rolls,
Suz

To technology...

Today I'm trying out the newest technological advances in video games... Kinect. Microsoft has created the first game system where no controller is needed, save your body and your voice. How does this work? Well, I can't give you the scientific answer... but on the consumer level it's basically a mixture of sensors and cameras.

What I love about this game system is how they've created the experience to be physically interactive. I worry about this generation of kids who sit in front of the TV all day and lose their imaginations faster than their youth. Gone are the days of playing in refrigerator boxes or making mud pies. Now our senses require more stimulation than our own minds can provide. 

Sad.

At least Kinect forces people to get off their booties and moving again!

Thank you Microsoft for creating Kinect.

To my instructors...

Today I read an article about a mother who shook (and killed) her 3-month old baby for crying while she was playing a game on Facebook.  This coming after I taught a lesson on Shaken Baby Syndrome to a class of 5th graders on Tuesday...  It might sound odd to teach something so simple as "never shake a baby" to children (who will later become parents, mind you), because isn't it obvious or shouldn't their parents teach them?  But this story clearly demonstrates the need for more education around infant safety.  And if we don't teach our children, when will they learn?

The lesson I taught this week required me to use an egg and a glass jar to show the effect of shaking on an infant brain.  Imagine that the yolk of the egg is like a brain and the egg white, brain fluid.  If you bounce the jar gently up and down (like many parents do to calm their babies), the yolk stays in tact.  However, if you shake the jar sharply, the yolk splatters.  It's scrambled.  Now, imagine that is your baby's brain.  Or your niece's brain.  Or your grandson's brain...

My "smile on" today?

Thank you to my instructors for giving me the skills to teach kids about infant safety.  I feel hopeful that I'm helping to educate the next generation of parents.