Month: September 2015

Fight or Flight Therapy – Checkup #2

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I finished my next round of light sessions with light filter # 2 and went back to Dr. Tessler for a “check-up”. As per the routine, he redid his tests on me. My “circle” did grow a little. For an explanation of the “circle”, see here. I am progressing, but my progress is slow.

Changes I have seen:

  • Something happened that I would normally stew over for days. I was fine 24 hours later.
  • I am not afraid to pull into a parking space between 2 small cars. I used to fear not being able to judge distance and hit the car next to me. I still have issues if I were pulling in between 2 trucks, but at least there has been some progress.
  • When someone invaded my boundary, I was able to see what I needed to do next to set a proper boundary. Normally, an incident would happen and all I can do is feel the emotions surrounding it, but not know what to do next.

Overall, I’m getting to see the big picture, but I am still far from where I’d like to be.

With this new light filter, I will now have to do 40 sessions due to my slow progress. If I can find time for 2 session a day, I can get done faster.

My initial evaluation

Checkup #1

Checkup #3

Checkup #4

Tiny Town Colorado – Great for Little Ones!

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Tiny Town

I’ve been looking for places to go where everyone in our family can participate. So far, I feel like I’ve been sitting out with my 2 year old watching my older two go on rides at various places we’ve been to. That gets old after awhile. I want a family thing to do, not just something only part of the family can participate in.

So, I decided to try out Tiny Town in Morrison, CO. It was fairly easy to get to and it was a scenic drive.

When we arrived, I found parking to be a bit limited. It’s good to get there either when they open or in the afternoon after people have started to leave.

Tiny Town is full of small houses, built with different themes. The houses are the perfect size for little ones to enjoy. Many have dolls inside to look at. Children can even play in a few of the houses. One of my child’s favorite buildings was an old cinema showing a Charlie Chaplin movie. The characters sitting in the audience were all Disney characters. So fascinating to little ones!

The part that my son loved the most was the train. There were 2 trains that ran. One was a steam engine that had lots of smoke. My kids didn’t want to ride that one. The other train was more modern looking. Maybe it was electric? We waited in line for this one. The trains alternate so you have to time it just right if you would prefer one train over the other.

All of my kids loved the train. My 2 year old was scared at first, but quickly settled down and loved the ride! The train goes through Tiny Town plus another area only accessible by train. You get to see more houses and themed areas – like a bird town, dinosaur town, etc. My kids all loved it! The best part was that we did it together! I didn’t have to sit it out.

We spent a few hours there. Tiny Town has a picnic area and a playground for the kids. They do sell concessions there, but allow outside food.

Overall, Tiny Town exceeded my expectations. It was a place where the whole family could participate, even my 2 year old.

The Duggars and the Pressures of Parenting

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As a mom, we feel pressure to have our kids turn out a certain way. If our child hits another child, we tend to feel like a bad mom. After all, a good mom would teach her child not to hit, irregardless of his free will. There is so much pressure, but we are encouraged by loved ones to let the pressure go. Our child’s choices are theirs and do not reflect who we are as moms (although I think they might a tad). All we can do is try our best and hope our children turn out to be responsible God-fearing adults with integrity.

In light of this, I have seen so much criticism pointed toward the parents of Josh and Anna Duggar during this latest scandal. If the parents had done “X”, then “Y” wouldn’t have happened. If they weren’t so legalistic, then their children would have turned out better. If they weren’t so patriarchy, then Anna would have employment skills and not be forced into a mindless “submissive” wife position (which I don’t agree with). It saddens me. We are such a critical society. We don’t have to agree with everyone’s parenting practices, but we should try to be empathetic and look through their eyes. Most parents do the best they can to raise their children. They don’t maliciously follow certain practices like only wearing skirts to cause ill-will toward their children. They practice what they believe is right.

This is the pressure that all moms feel. Yeah, we are told to give ourselves a break and not let that pressure get to us, but case in point, if our child does something really bad, like Josh Duggar, and it’s public knowledge, then we WILL be criticized and thought of as bad parents.

I’ve read: “If only his parents had not done the TV show while Josh was struggling with sexual sin.” The right or wrongness of having a TV show is a mute point (perhaps), but take that away and it comes down to 2 parents who thought they were doing a good thing. Maybe they didn’t realize the stronghold the sin had on him. I don’t know. It all boils down to the fact that these are real people, trying to raise their family to the best of their abilities. No parent is perfect – no reality show parent, no non-reality show parent. As parents, we should be less critical of others.  Although perhaps we are critical to make ourselves feel better? We tell ourselves: “At least I didn’t put my family on TV”, or “At least my son didn’t do this”…

I wish our society would focus on building people up rather than tearing them down, especially when they are already down. The deeds are done. What can we do “right now” to help “build up” families, not tear them down regardless of what has happened?