Nature, Busy-ness & Hints of Progress....
Dear Friends --
Spotted two wild Calypso orchids, or Venus Slippers, today -- magenta & white. Haven't seen any for several years, which is typical. I'd gone to check on our yellow lady slipper orchids; they're not due to bloom for another several weeks. And there they were, not a yard away -- so bright & unlike anything else. On our land, no less! The wonders of living on Pikes Peak.
Almost skipped my mountain walk to sit & admire. But over-busy as I am, that wouldn't be wise.
In the last few weeks, Jane's had some double good news. But I'm going to let her write that. When she can, writing helps her, and you'll enjoy it more, too. I'll just say that we think it'll make life better for her.
This spring, my practice has been busier than any time in the past five years or more. Which is good -- good work, especially around families of our soldiers in, back from & going to Iraq. Sad work, but important.
And good, too, because it pays off some bills and makes things less tight.
How it got over-busy? From time to time, possible opportunities arise. Few come through, though I make proposals. Several months back, two showed themselves, and I responded. After that, as usual, silence, nothing.
Be careful what you ask for.
Three weeks ago, after returning from a good workshop on aging, both erupted. One project is conducting a series of brief trainings on PTSD, 10-12 little modules for therapists & mental heath workers in a program treating our soldiers with PTSD & addictions, an all-too-common combination. Strictly pro bono, no money, but I'll be able to use the handouts I develop. And mostly, of course, it's a privilege & a duty. Whatever we think of the war, we have a responsibility to those we've asked to fight it.
The second project is working with a Very At-Risk school -- kids not only on the verge of expulsion, but many headed for jail if not juvie prison -- 12-16 years old. Suddenly they needed over 70 appointments by the end of June. If they didn't get them, they might lose some funding for the next four years. Plus, if possible, they wanted a multi-family group started. Most of these kids came from chronically overwhelmed families -- no surprise -- some with generations of school failures & imprisonments.
Many of these kids have been grossly neglected by our mental health system, if anyone dare call it a system. Of those I've seen so far, about half could explain their problem behaviors largely on missed major & serious mental health problems, even aside from their family problems. Staggering, what we've spent for years, blindly trying to control, say, Aspergers with PTSD, bipolar with psychosis, and the worst case of juvenile Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder I've seen (and that's a specialty of mine). Imagine teaching a classroom of these kids. And of course, consequences & jail are just what these kids need to straighten up. It's already been so successful with their families.
Why hasn't anything been done? No insurance. We'd rather spend our taxes on jails & our income on outrageous health premiums & drug prices higher than any country in the world.
*sigh*
Good work. And surprisingly, it also pays, though they're getting full-value pound-of-flesh out of my hide. I'm filled, now, six days a week, which for me is not sustainable, but for six weeks is doable. And the extra lets us fly back to Illinois for my nephew's wedding, and to see my son, Nick, and my dad. Plus we can finally get Les health insurance for the first time in over 15 years.
Well, I'm at the end of my morning walk. These hikes are my best time for thinking & writing. Up in a Douglas fir, one stellar jay mews while another caws -- probably some nest-building. And I hear the whistle of a broadtail hummingbird flying by. They've been at our feeders for almost two months. Almost back to our cabin, and time to fix breakfast for Jane & me, then off to work. In many ways, I feel we're pretty lucky.
I'll keep nudging Jane to write you her news.
Love & luck to you all,
avus
Spotted two wild Calypso orchids, or Venus Slippers, today -- magenta & white. Haven't seen any for several years, which is typical. I'd gone to check on our yellow lady slipper orchids; they're not due to bloom for another several weeks. And there they were, not a yard away -- so bright & unlike anything else. On our land, no less! The wonders of living on Pikes Peak.
Almost skipped my mountain walk to sit & admire. But over-busy as I am, that wouldn't be wise.
In the last few weeks, Jane's had some double good news. But I'm going to let her write that. When she can, writing helps her, and you'll enjoy it more, too. I'll just say that we think it'll make life better for her.
This spring, my practice has been busier than any time in the past five years or more. Which is good -- good work, especially around families of our soldiers in, back from & going to Iraq. Sad work, but important.
And good, too, because it pays off some bills and makes things less tight.
How it got over-busy? From time to time, possible opportunities arise. Few come through, though I make proposals. Several months back, two showed themselves, and I responded. After that, as usual, silence, nothing.
Be careful what you ask for.
Three weeks ago, after returning from a good workshop on aging, both erupted. One project is conducting a series of brief trainings on PTSD, 10-12 little modules for therapists & mental heath workers in a program treating our soldiers with PTSD & addictions, an all-too-common combination. Strictly pro bono, no money, but I'll be able to use the handouts I develop. And mostly, of course, it's a privilege & a duty. Whatever we think of the war, we have a responsibility to those we've asked to fight it.
The second project is working with a Very At-Risk school -- kids not only on the verge of expulsion, but many headed for jail if not juvie prison -- 12-16 years old. Suddenly they needed over 70 appointments by the end of June. If they didn't get them, they might lose some funding for the next four years. Plus, if possible, they wanted a multi-family group started. Most of these kids came from chronically overwhelmed families -- no surprise -- some with generations of school failures & imprisonments.
Many of these kids have been grossly neglected by our mental health system, if anyone dare call it a system. Of those I've seen so far, about half could explain their problem behaviors largely on missed major & serious mental health problems, even aside from their family problems. Staggering, what we've spent for years, blindly trying to control, say, Aspergers with PTSD, bipolar with psychosis, and the worst case of juvenile Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder I've seen (and that's a specialty of mine). Imagine teaching a classroom of these kids. And of course, consequences & jail are just what these kids need to straighten up. It's already been so successful with their families.
Why hasn't anything been done? No insurance. We'd rather spend our taxes on jails & our income on outrageous health premiums & drug prices higher than any country in the world.
*sigh*
Good work. And surprisingly, it also pays, though they're getting full-value pound-of-flesh out of my hide. I'm filled, now, six days a week, which for me is not sustainable, but for six weeks is doable. And the extra lets us fly back to Illinois for my nephew's wedding, and to see my son, Nick, and my dad. Plus we can finally get Les health insurance for the first time in over 15 years.
Well, I'm at the end of my morning walk. These hikes are my best time for thinking & writing. Up in a Douglas fir, one stellar jay mews while another caws -- probably some nest-building. And I hear the whistle of a broadtail hummingbird flying by. They've been at our feeders for almost two months. Almost back to our cabin, and time to fix breakfast for Jane & me, then off to work. In many ways, I feel we're pretty lucky.
I'll keep nudging Jane to write you her news.
Love & luck to you all,
avus