On a beautiful fall morning 16 years ago, our nation’s collective consciousness was shattered by the horrific attacks on the World Trade Center. That day, our shared belief in the safety of our nation and its borders was instantly changed into a sense of disbelief, fear and anger, all of which persist to this day. However, despite the negative ramifications of that fateful day, I’d like to remember a bright spot, reminiscent of which I witnessed this past week in the way first responders and … [Read more...]
Musical Memories: Five Feet High and Rising
Like millions of Americans, I’ve remained glued to the television and other news outlets chronicling the epic deluge that Hurricane Harvey has unleashed across Houston, Rockport, Galveston, and along the Gulf Shores of Texas and into Louisiana. As a fellow Texan and an American, it’s been heart wrenching to watch the powerful destruction so easily wrought to the works of men by Mother Nature. As a lifelong educator and a parent, I am especially moved by images of babies, toddlers and … [Read more...]
Just Lock Me UP!
After Larry left for Vietnam, my psychiatrist in Lubbock, Texas, told me I could get better faster if I went to The Menninger Clinic in Topeka, Kansas. When he discharged me from the Psychiatric Unit at Methodist, Hospital in Lubbock, I moved to Seminole to live with Mother until a room was available at Menninger. Laura, almost two years old, stayed with her babysitter in Lubbock. My Clinical Depression was so severe I couldn’t take care of her. Mother was a teacher. She left me in bed every … [Read more...]
Binging and Purging Is an Addiction: National Eating Disorders Awareness Week (February 26-March 4)
Eating and purging was one of my addictions after my husband Larry left for Vietnam and when I checked myself into the Menninger Clinic in 1970. It was a ritual that relieved my escalating anxiety and the sense that all the fear building up inside of me would blow off the top of my head. At the time, my fear had a constant cadence like a drumbeat. Not long after being hospitalized during one of our afternoon sessions, Dr. Roberts visited with me about a report from one of the cafeteria … [Read more...]
