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Practicing Calm — The Time-In – A Series: Part 2
I've been thinking about what it means to practice calm, especially in moments when other people are watching and silently judging whether you're doing it right. Here's a story that's stayed with me for years. The little boy, three years old, was out of control, a temper tantrum of sorts. I didn't know what he wanted, but I could tell he...
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Practicing Calm — The Honey Bucket – A Series: Part 1
I used to think staying calm with my children was a skill I'd eventually master and move past, something I'd graduate from once they were grown. I know better now. Right now, I'm caring for my 96-year-old mother, who has dementia, and I'm finding myself back in the same classroom I thought I'd left decades ago. That's really what this series...
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Learning in Disguise
A friend of mine, a mom with several young children, told me recently that her kids' favorite thing to do is play dress-up. They want to do it all day long, even the boys. Of course, it makes a glorious mess. As we visited, she asked me about the value of this interest she was seeing in her kids, and...
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Finding Your Two Mites
My sister Cindy has a job caring for a man with dementia. As I know well, this can be an overwhelming and consuming responsibility. Here was her text to me: "Mary, I need advice. Taking care of D. is draining me. I didn't go to the temple all week. I'd leave his house, and I had nothing left. He wants to...