Next week: Write off

Next week:  Class will be a write off from 1:00-3:00 PM.  There will be no 10:30 AM session.

You do not need to do anything in preparation for the next class except bring yourself, a pen/pencil, and a hopeful spirit.  Hope to see you there!  :)

Adoption

My brother is adopted, and I've spent much of my life around adoptees and adoptive families.  I have heard almost all of the excuses and explanations about adoption of children.  I have also lived and traveled overseas and spent much time around immigrants and expatriates.  I have heard equally as many excuses and explanations of adopting (or not adopting) new cultures.

But one thing about either type of adoption is fundamentally clear:  the taking up of someone or something that is not yours and making it your own changes you very bit as much as it changes the other person or thing.

The other extraordinarily clear aspect of adoption is that the taking up is a conscious choice.

This week's assignment is to take a tenet of life that you've adopted from somewhere.  Explain how you discovered, how you incorporated it into your life, and how it has changed you.

The Path Less Traveled By

When I was in the eighth grade, I forgot about a book report until the teacher reminded us Friday that the report was due Monday, and it needed to be on a classic.  Problem was that I hadn't read any classics recently, so I did the only thing an eighth-grade girl could do.  I asked Daddy if we had any classics laying around the house.  He pulled out Alexandre Dumas's The Three Musketeers.  I objected.  It was a boy's book.  He told me that girls who had two days to finish a book report and not many options couldn't be too choosy about her reading materials.

So I opened the book and there, on the inside of the front cover, was my dad's address:

Ricky *****
**** Ashton Drive
Lima, Ohio 45801
Planet Earth

That "Planet Earth" and the reading material it was written on told me a whole lot about my dad's childhood headspace.


Most of the time, we write about things that we have done, but sometimes the things that we we've only imagined--like sword fights and space travel--tell a whole lot about us and the time we live in.  This week, I suggest that we take time to write out something we always imagined doing.  I don't mean a bucket list.  I mean the flights of fancy we use to bring both order and adventure to our lives.

I can't wait to hear what you have to say!

The Weak Become Strong

Most of us hate to talk about things we're not good at.  We hate to do them.  We hate to think about them.  And we often go great lengths to avoid them.  But they sure are fun to read about (and watch!  Didn't we love America's Funniest Home Videos?).

Very often, what we do when we are frustrated reveals the very core of our beliefs and temperament.  Think about the last time that you were frustrated.  What caused the frustration?  How did you deal with it?  What strengths did you use?  What weaknesses do you try to avoid?

This week, let's concentrate on our weaknesses--the hilarity that they can produce and the opportunities for improvement that they have provided!