Tonight's picture was taken in January of 2003. Mattie was eight months old and as you can see he was sitting in his entertainment saucer. I remember when Mattie was three months old, one of my college roommates mailed me this huge saucer as a baby gift. At first I thought......... WOW where is this going to fit??!!! But as any parent with a small child knows, you embrace anything that helps engage your child and captures his/her attention. Ironic isn't it that babies and toddlers are small and yet all their equipment is enormous and takes up so much space?! Any case at four months old we tried to put Mattie in this saucer seat. Mattie HATED it and began kicking, screaming, and crying! However, over time, and after many attempts, Mattie came to love this seat. It gave him freedom to move his legs, twirl around, and be in control. Which was key..... Mattie liked independence and control right from the beginning.
Quote of the day: The first duty of love is to listen. ~ Paul Tillich
My friend sent me this quote this morning and as soon as I read it, it resonated with me. So many issues between friends and loved ones arise because NO ONE is LISTENING. After all listening is hard work. Of course listening may not happen for multiple reasons. One, we think we know better and therefore we stop listening. Two, we don't have the time to listen, and third, there is NOTHING to listen to because the person in question has shut down and is not talking. Several problems were presented to me today from various people I interacted with, and in every situation things got out of hand because listening and honest communication did not happen. As I expressed to one individual today, covering up information helps no one in the end, and especially when visiting a mental health provider, not providing the facts is not only harmful but it isn't therapeutic. It is true that I do not perform one-on-one therapy anymore and how I use my degree and training differs now, but at the heart of all human interactions is a bond and connection. Such connections are the cornerstone of any effective therapeutic relationship. I believe having therapeutic skills enables me to interact with just about anyone and this also gives me insights into their behavior and actions. Which may be why simple interactions for me, tend not to be so simple.
This morning Peter text messaged and shared with me some unsettling news. Peter is usually the first person to enter his office suite in the morning. Today, when Peter got into the office, he wasn't alone. He startled an intruder who was trying to steal computers. The thief saw Peter and started running! They saw each other and Peter's presence stopped the thief before he walked away with more than just an old laptop. The scary part of all of this is this man could have been armed. Fortunately he wasn't since this could have been a very different scenario. Peter worked with the police and went through video surveillance footage to identify the criminal. Clearly there is never a dull moment and you just never know what the day is going to bring. Any one ever diagnosed with cancer, knows the profound effect that one minute can make. It is the difference between life without cancer and life with cancer.
I finally ventured outside today and walked maybe three miles in this horribly frigid weather. It certainly would be easier to be sedentary, but I find that doesn't do wonders for my mood. In the midst of everything else today, the Foundation has received an invitation to speak at both a university and a national conference. In fact the national conference has asked us to be the keynote speaker. Now there is a daunting task. I have to find out more about this, but what this is telling me is that our Foundation's mission and platform is causing some attention, and a national psychosocial standard of care is not only our dream, but it is a necessary reality.
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