Water for Camels

When I was 25 years old, I took an adventurous trip to Australia.  I went alone, stayed for five weeks with people I had never met before and had the time of my life.  On the second day there, my new friends took me hiking up a small mountain.  At first glance, from the car, … Continue reading Reaching the Summit

Foxglove is a beautiful flower that graces the most cultured gardens, shaming the more demure plants  with its  gorgeous trumpet shaped fuschia petals.   Or is It? Actually foxglove is an invasive weed whose entire structure is poisonous. Digitalis, the chemical found in foxglove can kill children, pets and even adults. Children are drawn to … Continue reading A beautiful lie

Alone I am more vulnerable, I become weak and sometimes fall. But together we are strong.   When I was an investigator for child abuse and neglect, the days I got home at 9pm were more numerous than the ones that allowed me to leave at 5pm.  It was a fact that I accepted.  It … Continue reading Together We Are Strong

Are you experiencing dissatisfaction with your families' stagnation or relapse?  It is so easy to get frustrated and overwhelmed when you are doing everything You know to do to help someone achieve their goals but are seeing little success.  You have been working with Ms. Jones for six months.  She is pleasant and cooperative with … Continue reading The Vulnerability of Engagement

Be a VISIONARY! When I was a little girl, I was the middle child: the only girl between two boys.  Thus my life of competition began.  Early  career visions for myself included cowboy and super hero, not princess or damsel in distress.  Much to the chagrin of my older brother, Greg, I was pretty tough … Continue reading Visionary

Dear Social Worker You are Powerful.  Never forget it.   There is Power in so many aspects of your life. You have a college education when many do not. That is Power.  You have a career that earns you a salary, when many do not.  That is Power.  You are trained to see beyond the … Continue reading POWERFUL

There is an activity used in training that teaches a lesson in self care. In this activity, you are handed a bucket of water.  Other people are identified in the activity:  your partner, your boss, your children, your aging parents, your friends, your foster children, your co-workers, your clients, your trainer and so on. As … Continue reading Replenish your Bucket

Institutional Culture is a term batted around by leadership and systems experts.  The widely held belief that organizational change begins from the top down is indisputable.  I concur that if the CEO does not share the passion for the mission, that lack of passion will trickle down to the staff.  But let's not discount the … Continue reading Be The Change

I took this picture from my office one day as I watched a rather nasty storm approach.  Severe weather has triggered a nervous reaction in me since the day my family and I were awakened early one morning to the sound of a tornado approaching our house.  The house suffered major damage, but we did … Continue reading When Storm Clouds Gather

"Hate is a cancer, slowly killing everything it touches.  Hate is the product of fear and an inability to apply reason to maladaptive beliefs.   Hate is the culmination of rhetoric spewed by dangerous people on the lost and gullible.  And we, who see hate for what it is, cannot be silent." Angela McClintock 8.13.17. … Continue reading Hate is a Cancer