My first understanding of how bullying feels came from a rooster my eight-year-old daughter caught at the county fair. Since she picked the one with the $5.00 bill around his leg she also “won” the rooster. The rooster liked everyone but me. I became a prisoner in my home. When I went outside the rooster would strut up to me; circle me, and attack; fly at my face with his … [Read more...]
Pearl Harbor Baby
Born at the time of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, I was raised on a farm with a younger sister by our widowed mother who had a limited education, I vowed to get an education beyond high school to provide for myself, thus I became a teacher. I never really gave thought to returning to rural life but that is exactly what I did with teaching several years in a couple of rural … [Read more...]
Dr. J’s Mini Life Story
My parents wanted a boy. I was disappointment number four, with number five still to come. I tried to be a boy for my dad, but I was truly a girl with curls and ruffles and giggles. My parents argued a lot, and to this day I avoid conflict. It is one of my least healthy traits. Wanting people to tell their stories is rooted in not always having the safety to verbalize what I … [Read more...]
What I Left Behind
What I Left Behind I remember a line for a popular song—“…you got to pick up on one and leave the other behind.” I don’t remember the context of the song, but that line has been echoing in my mind for some time now as I have struggle d with choices about work, my life’s work., my mission in this life. I wanted to be an artist. No, that isn’t quite right. I knew I was an … [Read more...]