Several years ago, through a workplace trauma training, I learned about a study conducted by CDC-Kaiser Permanente titled the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study. During the training, we had the opportunity to take the Adverse Childhood Experiences survey —a brief list of ten yes/no questions. After completing the ACE survey, I was surprised to see my … Continue reading Adverse Childhood Experiences
Often when something falls apart it’s because something better is waiting for us. When relationships, events, or careers stop, or stop working for us, it’s an opportunity surface and take a breath. The point where our feet feel as though they are slogging through mud is an opportunity to stop pushing so hard. It’s an … Continue reading Don’t Drag Your Past Into Your Future
I sat in stunned silence on the couch opposite Fay. Absorbing the warmth of our large fireplace, she sat on the raised hearth, her knees drawn up to her chest. Her eyes were heavy with the weight of this decision and its impact on her children. The light from the fireplace accentuated the stress creasing … Continue reading Toxic Positivity
If you find yourself balancing working from home alongside homeschooling, I’m sorry that you find yourself in this demanding situation. As an educator, a speech-language pathologist, and a homeschooling parent, I want you to know it’s going to be okay—at least from the perspective of your child’s education. I homeschooled my children. I deliberately simplified … Continue reading Homeschooling in a Pandemic
On one of the warmer days in early May, with our glass and screen doors open, Lou looked out onto our apartment’s deck. He noticed a fuzzy bee clinging to the white rod that opens and closes the vertical blinds to his right. He watched as she crawled down the length of the rod and … Continue reading Fiona
If your thoughts, words, or writing include the phrase “I don’t understand” in response to the protests and rioting in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, I invite you to read on. That statement ~I don’t understand~ speaks volumes. No, you don’t understand. And that is the problem. You don’t understand. And yet you move … Continue reading I Don’t Understand
A friend of mine asked me why I chose the name “Peripheral View” for my blog, so I decided to share my thoughts. Looking at something from the periphery often gives us a changed perspective. If we’re able to slow down long enough, we can look more objectively at ourselves, our friends, and relationships. It’s … Continue reading Why Peripheral View
I dedicate this post to my mom, a woman whose pain became my own. I had a challenging relationship with my mother. She was depressed throughout much of her life. And an alcoholic. That, of course, doesn’t wholly define her, though, sadly it’s the dominant remembrance I have of her. She died over ten years … Continue reading Mother’s Day
Most of us think about food and alcohol when we hear the word consumption. The truth is that what we watch is also a form of consumption. What we listen to or read are also forms of consumption. In some ways, the people we hang out with are a form of consumption. Advertisements in magazines … Continue reading Consumption
I have spent a good portion of my life resisting my reality. I wanted to be so many other people. I wanted to have so many different options. Certainly thought I would have traveled alternate paths. I wanted Mr. Rogers to be my dad. Or Robin Williams. And Oprah Winfrey to be my mom. Or … Continue reading Radical Acceptance
Peripheral View 