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Osprey

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  1. This actually, I think, explains a lot about your resistance to seeking therapy. My undergrad degree was psychology, and my DH is a social worker. There are a LOT of people who seek out these fields because they are dealing with their own mental health issues/trauma and are trying to understand themselves. But because, for example, I know of so many not-very-good social workers through DH, I would never try to see a LCSW for therapy. I understand that there are probably many very good LCSW therapists, but I’m just not interested in playing those odds. I have never done couples/marriage counseling, but I did do individual counseling from age 14-22. I saw three different therapists throughout that time. I barely remember the first one, but I think I just kind of talked. It was not helpful. The second one also was not helpful, and angered my father by suggesting that my problems would be fixed by a gap year trip to Europe (keep in mind, I was in therapy for actual mental health issues). The third one was a PhD in Clinical Psychology, and did not take insurance. My parents had excellent insurance and they were able to recoup some of the costs by submitting claims afterwards, but everything was pay out of pocket, and it was expensive. She was fantastic, however. That was life-changing therapy. 20 years later, and I still use tools that she taught me. She mainly used CBT but we also tried out EMDR (I think that’s the correct acronym- it’s the eye movement thing). Bad or mediocre therapists can be a waste of time, or can even do harm. But good therapists can seemingly perform miracles, from my experience.
  2. Do they have an aunt or uncle nearby? I helped teach my niece and nephew to drive and it was fun for me and they both were appreciative. I’m dreading teaching my own child to drive, however. There seems to be just enough distance in a niece/nephew aunt/uncle type relationship to make it work.
  3. Do you have a Trader Joe’s near you? They always have them in the frozen section.
  4. Growing up, we mostly didn’t attend church. I remember a few months at a non-denominational church when I was late elementary age. Attended Seventh Day Adventist high school (boarding) so attended daily religious services. As an adult, attended a few different liberal-leaning Protestant churches. Was baptized as a Catholic a few years ago along with my daughter. There are many aspects of Catholicism that I enjoy and many that I disagree with. I feel that the parts that are truly centered in Christ are worth sticking around for, even when the parts centered around man’s interpretations are trying to drive me out. Husband does not identify as Christian or any other religion. He’ll attend with us when there’s something special going on that we ask him to come for.
  5. I have a bunion and 90% of my shoes are Keens. They’re great!
  6. If you want your backyard to be a kid Mecca...plant lots of special plants. Have 2 dogs that like to poop right where kids like to walk. Have hard surfaces, dangerous tools, and a small brick-lined pond that they can try to throw things into, and then make sure you yell at them. That’s my backyard and the kids are constantly over here. Drives me crazy. The kid next door has a lovely backyard for playing. My neighbor and I are constantly trying to get the kids to go over there. No luck.
  7. That sounds great. I did my student teaching at Kensington Parkwood Elementary. Great school (I know you homeschool, but still, good indicator of the neighborhood). I hope you really enjoy your time there.
  8. My left eye is legally blind whereas my right eye is almost perfect. Never had a lazy eye or anything like that. I wear glasses for reading and computer work so my good eye doesn’t get tired. I have 0 depth perception because of this, supposedly. I’m supposed to wear glasses when I drive and I do bring my glasses, but my right eye is just used to correcting and doing all the work. Interestingly, my mom has this exact same issue. Same eye and everything.
  9. Cast iron- we have a skillet and then a ceramic coated Dutch oven. Both Lodge. We use these for the majority of our cooking. We have either Wustof or Henckels knives- don’t feel like going down to the kitchen to check, just know they cost an arm and a leg. But we’ve had them for 14+ years and they are still great. For our stainless steel pots and pans we do have all-clad, but really, cast iron is SO much better. Finally, large wooden cutting boards.
  10. I would look at Takoma Park. Maybe some of the farther-out parts of Silver Spring. Germantown?
  11. My daughter and I spent most weekends with my grandfather before he passed, helping to care for him. This was when she was 7 or 8. She has never expressed any negative feedback on this. We talked a lot about what was happening to him and how his impending death was affecting us. She knew it was important to me to help care for him, as a sign of love and respect, and I think she kind of took on that belief as her own. I guess it’s important to note that she helped my husband care for me when I was having major surgery and chemo, when she was 4. So she already had a context for some of this. She definitely does remember those last weeks, but she also remembers lots of other good, healthy times with him. I’m glad she was there so much.
  12. I haven’t read the rest of the replies, but my brother decided at about that age (maybe a little younger) that he wanted to be a doctor. My parents did nothing to encourage or discourage him. Our GP at the time was a family friend, and so my brother did ask to volunteer/intern in his office throughout high school. And my brother was always very gifted and especially interested in maths and sciences, so the school pushed him along in advanced coursework. So yes, some kids really do follow through on their early career dreams, and from my sample size of 1, what you do or don’t do to help them along really doesn’t make much difference.
  13. Regarding cameras, I teach at a special education school with many nonverbal students, and we do have use of seclusion as a behavioral intervention. Every seclusion room, classroom, hallway, common room, etc, has cameras. Parents are NOT able to watch video. However, administrators check them throughout the day just as an overview, and the recordings are pulled up and thoroughly reviewed if anyone (teacher, staff, kid, parent) has a complaint or question about something that happened. As a teacher, this actually makes me feel safer. I like knowing that if someone unfairly accuses me, it won’t just be my word against theirs. And it’s great when a kid gets hurt at recess or has a seizure and we can go back and see exactly what happened. I see no reason why this system couldn’t be implemented in all schools.
  14. We live in a circle of townhouses, so our neighbors are really more like family. There are a lot of kids and everyone knows each other really, really well. The two kids next door are basically siblings to my daughter. A lot of my friends are also neighbors. On weekends and in the summer, everyone just kind of flows in and out of each other’s houses. I think it seems overwhelming to friends and family when they come visit, but I really like it.
  15. It bothers me enough that they evaluate K-12 public school teachers like this. But they do it like that at college too?? Where you teach actual adults? That’s crazy.
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