To parent is always about history and healing and love. It is natural to want to protect our children, and ourselves, but our fear does not serve us...Our children need us to be grounded and present and non-judgmental. When they feel safety and strength in us, they will come to know it in themselves. When they feel trust from us, they will be able to trust the

They are expressions of light. They are a doer, a dreamer, a lover, a fighter, and a fiercely independent sprite – compassionate, philosophical, playful, focused, and determined...

Children who experience shame have a difficult time asking for what they need. They express themselves through subterfuge, manipulation, challenging behavior. The message is almost always the same. They are asking for connection...In so doing, no matter how they do it, they are risking the rejection they most fear.

Pausing to appreciate the good things that exist in every day doesn’t mean we avoid challenges, or abandon difficulties, or neglect to plan for the future. It means we acknowledge that within the roiling of catastrophe, there is always something to celebrate. We acknowledge the celetastrophe of every day.

Christmas is about giving for the sake of giving, opening our hearts, and sharing what we have. That our children trust us enough to share their longing and to let us hold their pain, is a bittersweet gift. It may not be what we hoped to find under the tree, but it is real.

The challenges of becoming an effective trauma-informed organization are considerable for sure. Taken as an opportunity, and not a burden, they present a unique platform for organizational learning, healing, and growth. Among so many other things, the efforts inure to the benefit of a milieu that becomes a sanctuary for healing and where little boys are not subject to blame for unintended treatment outcomes.

They had to have heard me screaming even above the cacophony of 200 children playing. Distress makes a different sound. It is not possible to ignore cries for help. You notice and then choose how you will react. You look up. You look in the direction of the noise. You decide. There were dozens of witnesses to my molestation. They decided to look away.