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Friday, May 23, 2008

Too Big...



Have you ever felt too big to do something? If you can't tell, I didn't know I was too big to lay on the top of the couch like Abbey! Then I tried to make it look like I was fine and then I got frustrated. Now that I think about it, maybe I am this size for a reason because there are things Abbey is too small to do. We each have our own qualities and it looks nice to try things that our size doesn't allow, but there are reasons. Tara says that is like the "grass is greener on the other side" and one of our client's this week said it was like how she always wants straight hair but has curly. I think I want to be more comfortable in my size and help others do the same. If I wasn't this big, I couldn't look at the food being cooked on on the stove, I couldn't have some of the kids pretend I am a horse, I couldn't win all the tug of war games that I win and much more. There are always things we will want to change or be different that aren't possible and sometimes we have to try them out to see why. Maybe just laying on the couch and not the top is where I need to be.



Thursday, May 15, 2008

Just Listen...

I always wondered why Abbey and I have big floppy ears and finally figured it out---to listen better. Maybe that is why we can't talk either, all we can do is listen and love. This has been extremely helpful this week with our clients as they just needed to talk and have someone listen with care.

Abbey and I both have worked a lot this week and been able to rest after some of those sessions as well. It is amazing how our clients will talk to us as some of it does not require words directly from them. I watched one of the little girls put on a puppet show this week and she talked about friendship and the importance of being nice to each other with the puppets. The best part was all of a sudden she would turn it into hide and go seek and I would go peek over the make shift puppet theater to find her laying there giggling looking at me and petting me and then she would put me back on my spot in a "sit, stay" to watch again. I think she forgot Tara was there, except for when she asked to give me a cookie...yum yum!

We have noticed that the quiet pause and inability of us to respond verbally is uncomfortable for some people, however they learn to appreciate the silence and allow it to work with them in their processing. Next time you feel like you don't have anything to say or you have said too much, don't say anything and just listen as that can be the most powerful that person will experience that day.

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Smiling...it's good for you!

It's Abbey...have you ever had those days were you go and go and forget to check in with yourself to see what you are going and going for? I have found that if you stop and smile about the positives you can slow down just a bit. I love to work with the kids and have found that they all smile when they see Bode and I. When they smile they usually stop and slow down to play with us and then engage us in what they are doing.


Smiling is a universal communicator with no verbal need. Smiling allows those around you to know something is positive with out it being described. I have been pulling extra hours this week, which makes me smile, since Tara can't have Bode too much around her hand or on a leash (poor Bode :( He thinks it was his fault and doesn't understand that he is just too big and heavy on the leash for Tara with only one hand--see below if you don't know about Tara's hand). Through these hours I have gotten to see more smiling and progress through some of the kids and encouraged those that who thought there was nothing to smile about to try it. There was a lot of sandplay this week, which was good since Tara went to that training, and so many of the kids took deep breathes and smiled as they looked at their sandtrays.


Here is a picture of Brooke, a family member, smiling while holding me...I was smiling but always seem to stop when that camera thing comes out :)