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Educators, Listening, and Building Resilience
So … I went crazy and went back to school. I did it because I fell in love. Not with a person, but with the work I was doing to spread the word about trauma, especially adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). I love this work for many reasons, but I’m driven by the idea that when we know the way the past affects us we can give ourselves the credit we deserve for still standing. For still trying, hoping. For being resilient. During my master’s work I had a wonderful experience with middle school educators. They sounded like they had a great time, too. We explored the ways they used listening…
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Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month
March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. If you’re 45 or older, ask your health care professional if you should get a colonoscopy. That’s the major screening exam for colorectal cancer. It’s not pleasant, but it beats finding out long after the cancer has had its way with you. That’s what happened to my friend and colleague Samuel Griffin, III. God bless him, he talks openly about his cancer journey. As an entrepreneur who runs a security business with his wife, he has had some especially difficult periods. But he’s now in remission. I’m so proud of how he’s handled it all! I send him, and everyone who has been…
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DONAMATRIX DAY 2022
Saturday, April 2, 2022, it will be DONAMATRIX DAY again in Petersburg, VA. The “Hometown Fitness Festival” is led by Petersburg’s own Don (DB Donamatrix) Brooks, who is now a celebrity fitness trainer. More importantly, the event is amazing! I participated in the first DONAMATRIX DAY, in April of 2019. It was one of the most fun, and toughest, workouts I’ve had outside of Fitness Warriors training. Speaking of Fitness Warriors, there were a lot of us at Petersburg High School for the first event. Many Warriors enjoyed the opportunity to get a workout in as a participant, including our lead trainer Ricky Martin. Fitness Warrior Candace Benn led a…
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Breathe – Listen
Just a reminder. Things being what they are these days, it’s helpful to pause and breathe while you do something kinda small. Get back into your body, instead of wherever you wind up while working. Or doing some household chore. Or dealing with another person while they, you, or both play whatever cards life has dealt. Try it while taking a little trip outdoors that is totally not related to exercise. One of my favorite breathe-able trips is a ride on the Jamestown-Scotland Ferry in Surry County, Virginia. Once on the ferry, it’s nice to stand outside of the car, let the wind wash your face, and listen to the…
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Warrior Anniversary
Three years ago this week I started along the path to becoming one of the RVA Fitness Warriors. Time flies! There were some really tough places on that path, but it was so worth it. It still is. For people who can find a class in their area, they get a serious workout for FREE. Warriors are serving in community centers, churches, and schools. For FREE! I love the people who attend my class at the Petersburg Public Library, where we just celebrated the 2nd Anniversary of that specific class. We take Thursday at noon, and turn it into our personal power hour. Everyone doesn’t like to be in the…
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Family Engagement
On the very rainy Saturday morning of June 1st, I had the opportunity to support Walnut Hill Elementary School’s first Tiger Trot and Health Fair. Families came out and walked or ran the 5K course, or part of it, with amazing energy. Rain? No problem! I heard about it from the school’s Family Engagement Specialist, Ms. Parker, who connected me with the right staff person. So, some fellow members of the Petersburg Wellness Consortium joined me to make sure we could support the event on somewhat short notice (my fault). Bless them! I LOVE the folks in the Petersburg City Public School System’s Family Engagement Department. I’m using the word…
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Listening and Trauma-Informed Care
I can’t believe it’s been more than a month since I led a workshop at the International Listening Association’s 40th Annual Convention in Vancouver, Canada. Time really does fly! And I admit, it flies faster as you get older. Maybe because there’s always so much stuff to do, great and small. At the convention, where the theme was “Listening to Conflict,” I started working from the belief that all conflict actually starts inside of us. I believe listening, genuinely listening to ourselves and others, helps us affirm what’s happening inside of us, so we can better handle what’s going there as well as on the outside. I shared how my…
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Warriors Gotta Have FUN!
I realized recently that I have a blessed life, but right now it could do with a bit more fun. Have you ever felt that way? I’ve had some great experiences over the past year, and enjoyed myself, but I can’t remember any one of them being for pure fun that I chose for myself. There’s something to make time for this year. Really. But I must give a shout out to my husband. For my birthday he surprised me by having several family members meet us at a trampoline park, and then we went to eat. That was fun! Having said that, I must admit that the main reasons…
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Blooming…Whatever It Looks Like
A lot of people are thinking about fertilizer this time of year, and lots of other smelly, messy things that make beautiful and vital plants grow. What if we use that as a way of thinking about and addressing ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences)? When I first heard about ACEs and their impact on lifelong health and wellness, it was sobering to discover that a majority of us faced a potentially life-changing traumatic experience when we were children. However, I feel blessed to believe that once you know, it can make all the difference in the world. You can acknowledge and celebrate the fact that no matter how your life looks…
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Spreading The Word About ACEs
I’ve talked a LOT in recent years about Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), trauma, resilience-building, and the work I’m doing to help spread the word about them. That work includes helping to organize the 2017 BEYOND ACEs: Building Community Resilience Summit in Petersburg, VA. My beloved father and sister Patricia, who have always been super supportive, came out. In the picture they’re at the H.O.P.E. Fest that was part of the summit. However, I’ve mostly been doing that with people I’m around in Central Virginia, or patient family and friends. Even a friend who runs a security company tolerated my talking about trauma! Thank God he got it, and the impact…
