Suicide Recently the news has reported several young top athletes have suicided and then of course most recently, Naomi Judd. It’s astonishing and hard for others to understand why someone with so much going right for them, chose to end their life. We see someone who is excelling in so many arenas and wonder why… Continue reading Suicide
Author: Esther Vanderwal
Socializing for Health
Today I want to write about socializing. I have spoken to a few clients about how important it is to be social as a human being. I often share with students and clients that you can diaper and care for a baby’s biological needs, but an infant will still die due to lack of socialization. … Continue reading Socializing for Health
Our 5th Anniversary
By now, if you have read any of my previous blogs, you know that I came from a very poor farm family in Texas with many siblings and that I am Hispanic. I have tried to paint a picture of myself through words and allow you to see my life through a different lens. Today… Continue reading Our 5th Anniversary
Journaling a Legacy
Today, I found a journal that I had written in when I was a young mother. We were moving from Hawaii, my daughter was only three years old, and my son was still an infant. What a wonderful memory it brought up! The feelings came over me just like it was that very day. I… Continue reading Journaling a Legacy
Trauma
Today I would like to write about trauma, specifically rape and abuse and how it affects people. I was watching a Netflix show, “Longmire,” and they depicted a young Native American woman who had been raped. In her tribal community, they held a sweat for her. If you are not familiar with this, it’s a… Continue reading Trauma
Tangled Webs
By Esther Vanderwal and Mitzie Beavert Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.Sir Walter Scott, 1808 I have worked with parents who find their children deceiving them and with their children. Lying, is a developmental milestone for children but it still catches parents off guard. In fact, they begin… Continue reading Tangled Webs
Transitions
I thought I would write about transitions today as there are so many changes happening for all of us lately. I visualize life as a path that we are walking. I picture myself walking with a backpack of life on my back. It’s the same worn-out path that we know and somehow, it’s familiarity and… Continue reading Transitions
Trust versus Mistrust
Last night, one of my teacher friends was discussing how she had four students who recently were really acting out. She mentioned that the teachers reminded them that as teachers, they had been doing a lot for these boys and yet, they were acting out. That got me thinking about children who have not been… Continue reading Trust versus Mistrust
New Chapters
I remember when my son was a tiny baby, and my friends and I would talk about what year he and their children would graduate from high school. That time seemed so far away, and we laughed at the thought of it. Now, we are here. The time has come for them to graduate. Recently,… Continue reading New Chapters
Doors
I have been thinking about how life often presents us with doors that we can either walk through or ignore. I try to view life as a series of doors that we go by and try the knob. We try to turn the knob and if it gives us some resistance, perhaps that was not… Continue reading Doors