Sisters Day
"no won alowed exept Clara and Rachel!!!!!" my daughters' message written in red crayon on pink construction paper, attached to the door knobs of their bedrooms with green and white pipe cleaners
This morning, my husband sent our two little girls to wake me up. Clara (7) and Rachel (4) came running in, squealing with excitement, and from my deep state of sleep, I heard, "Mommy! Mommy!...
Time Alone
"She was happy to be alive and breathing, when her whole being seemed to be one with the sunlight, the color, the odors, the luxuriant warmth... She liked then to wander alone into strange and unfamiliar places. She discovered many a sunny, sleepy corner, fashioned to dream in. And she found it good to dream and be alone." Kate Chopin, The Awakening
read moreSecrets
"Silence bruises the heart." Elizabeth Rosner, the speed of light
"Please find a way to safely speak your truth because the healing process cannot begin until you do... it is absolutely possible to heal and get your life back." Wade Robson
Children’s Books We Love
“No, no! The adventures first, explanations take such a dreadful time.” Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
A lovable but clumsy elephant accidentally destroys someone's home, then comes up with a clever solution (Welcome Home, Mouse). A child in Tanzania turns an ordinary rock into a beloved companion (Elizabeti's Doll). A boy discovers that he can write...
Self-Acceptance: A Different New Year’s Resolution
"If you would see yourself reflected in the mirror of awareness the way you see your face reflected in the looking glass… exactly as it is without the slightest distortion or addition, and if you observed this reflection without any judgment or condemnation, you would experience all sorts of marvelous changes… It is this nonjudgmental awareness alone that heals and changes and makes one grow." Anthony de Mello, The Way to Love; The Last Meditations of Anthony de Mello
Saying Goodbye to a Pet
"I was hoping Penny wouldn't die in the night, but I thought she might. I wanted two days with her. Today wasn't very fun because we couldn't pat Penny." Rachel, age 4
"I imagine her in a house sort of like ours, with colorful flowers all around." Clara, age 6
Jenna’s Story
"Charlie, don’t you get it?…[you’re] sweet and everything, but it’s like you’re not even there sometimes. It’s great that you can listen and be a shoulder to someone, but…You can’t just sit there and put everybody’s lives ahead of yours and think that counts as love…I want to know where you are, what you need, and what you want to do." Stephen Chbosky, the perks of being a wallflower
read moreCommunication: Putting Down the Armor
"To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one... Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe... It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable..." C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves
read moreLost Girl: Sex and the Need to Please
"She’s been everybody else’s girl, maybe one day she’ll be her own." Tori Amos, "Girl"
Sarah curls up in the chair, sunlight glinting off the top of her bent head. She can’t look at me.
"Did you want to do it?" I ask.
"No."
"Then why did you?"
"I thought I had to. We had already started, and I knew that’s what he expected. I didn’t want him to be mad."
Bravery
"Oh Franklin! ...just because you're afraid doesn't mean you aren't brave. Being brave means doing what you have to do no matter how scared you feel." Paulette Bourgeois, Franklin Goes to the Hospital
My daughter wipes her cheeks and nose with the knotted up tissue, dazed brown eyes leaking constant tears that drip onto her red and white striped cotton dress.
About Lynn
I am a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor with a Master of Science in Pastoral Counseling from Loyola University in Maryland. I have been in private practice for over twenty years and have experience working with adults and adolescents, addressing a variety of issues: anxiety, depression, relationship problems, past or current trauma, eating disorders, self-mutilation, bereavement, parenting concerns, boundaries, and self-care.