Setting up for a large event, there was still some last minute preparation needed before the participants arrived. As I looked over the room, I noticed two staff members. They held the same rank and had the same years of experience. And both were excellent leaders. But at that moment, there existed a very different … Continue reading Martha Got a Bad Rap!
The Less Traveled Road
When you were a child, did you dream of becoming a social worker? Ok, stop laughing. Most of us did not. Yet, here we are, protecting children, helping families and often to the very detriment of our own lives. We chose a path that was fraught with rocks, brambles and all manner of things that … Continue reading The Less Traveled Road
Rose Colored Glasses
Looking at the world through Rose Colored Glasses intimates that you only see the positive in a situation, ignoring the negative aspects. But what if you only see the negative? Clinically, to the extreme we might diagnose Dysthemic disorder or the old Melancholia. But there are people who are NOT clinically depressed but are just … Continue reading Rose Colored Glasses
Brain Freeze
It was a scorcher of a day, deep in the heart of the South. I was walking along the River Walk in New Orleans, Louisiana. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a very bright sign, bathed in rainbow colors. As I turned to investigate the loud image, two words called out my … Continue reading Brain Freeze
Plant Where They Will Bloom
It is well know around my circles that I have a brown thumb. Not only can I not sustain the life of complex flowers and plants, but I can even kill those "hard to kill" varieties. I read the literature and buy the products to no avail. The outcome is the same. But I keep … Continue reading Plant Where They Will Bloom
If It Ain’t Broke…
Charlie moved into his first foster home at the age of five. His mother, diagnosed with schizophrenia, had told her friends that God sent her a message to kill Charlie as an act of Abraham-like faith. The friend called child protective services and Charlie came into care so his mother could get the inpatient treatment … Continue reading If It Ain’t Broke…
When You Are Just So Tired
Tristan was a Special Education teacher in rural Mississippi. He got into the field with a passion for working with special needs children, helping them to reach their full potential. He loved teaching these children, loving each one for their individuality and their unique challenge. However, dealing daily with the politics in education drained him. … Continue reading When You Are Just So Tired
Silver and Gold have I None
What do Social Workers make? There is, in circulation, an article about all the good things social workers do for others : protect children and vulnerable adults; provide means for an impoverished family to have food and basic necessities; comfort the grieving; find treatment for the hurting and on and on and on. The article … Continue reading Silver and Gold have I None
But what can I do?
Most social workers know the analogy of the old man and the starfish. As the story goes: a young woman, jogging along the sea shore, stopped when she came across a strange scene. The beach, she observed, was covered with starfish, having been thrust upon the sand by violent waves. Unable to live outside of … Continue reading But what can I do?
Find an Outlet and Plug In
We use electricity daily without thinking. We always take it for granted...until a storm comes and knocks out the power. Then we groan and moan because we realize how much we depend upon electricity to illuminate and simplify our lives. The simple truth is especially evident with the introduction of cell phones, lap tops and … Continue reading Find an Outlet and Plug In
Water for Camels 