I am sure I would be preaching to the choir if I happened to say I see attachment issues and attachment disorder nearly everywhere I am … and if I don’t see it, it finds me. My friends call me the “RAD Magnet.” Here are some examples:

I have spent a good portion of this past week networking, making and re-establishing connections in preparation for ATN’s second national conference in Excelsior Springs, Missouri this August. One of... more

I have been sick since returning from Colorado. I don’t do sick well … I have way too much to do. But I spent all day yesterday in bed reading a book that was recommended to me by a family I met at Memorial Day weekend Family camp. The book was a NY best seller titled The Memory Keeper’s Daughter. Seems I’m reading lots about other peoples’ daughters these days, having just read ... more

I mentioned in this post about meeting "Mary", a most delightful adult adoptee, on my cowgirl weekend in April. As we were riding our horses past the mare and foal pasture, the conversation turned to adoption. Turns out she was adopted as an infant. And it also turns out she has attachment and/or trust issues that are impacting her ability to form healthy attachments as an adult.

I was pleased to be able to see her again on our most recent trip to Colorado.... more

I had another post nearly written for tonight. But I have to switch gears. My head is spinning and I have to share this with you.

While we were in Colorado last week, I heard on Colorado news, way up in Estes Park, something about a Kansas girl that was abducted from a Target store in broad daylight last Saturday night. She had graduated from high school two weeks ago. The Target store is in a very nice part of town in this very nice community.... more

Last October I received a book in the mail, and because I had just moved for the second time that year, and because my life was upside down, I put the book on a shelf and forgot about it. That is, until Cindy Bodie blogged about it and I just had to read it. So I did, and then I blogged about it.

The book is An Unlit Path by Deborah Hannah. Those of you interested... more

An article about personality disorders crossed my desk this morning. Rather serendipitous considering I just blogged about parental (and child) conditioned responses… and how difficult it is living with someone who responds negatively to nearly everything you do.

The author of this article, Gary Direnfeld, puts out regular snippets of information about parenting... more

The other night when Beth returned from swim practice, she informed me, “A lady in the bleachers said I was a really good swimmer!”

“You ARE a really good swimmer!” I replied.

“How would YOU know? You never watch me!”

Busted!! But the truth is, they discourage parents from watching regularly. And I watch her year round during three different meet seasons. But… here I sit tonight, watching her…

I brought my laptop for the repetitive times and was contemplating what to write about tonight. I also... more

On my recent vacation I enjoyed a moonlight horseback trail ride and found myself visiting with the pretty blond wrangler who was riding along beside me. We found ourselves discussing adoption and she happily informed me she was adopted. She was very appreciative of her life circumstances and loved her parents very much. She is also a newlywed and very much loves her husband.

So I am not at all sure what prompted me to ask her, “Do you have trust issues?”

She looked at me with wide eyes and said, “Funny you should ask me... more

I hinted in my last blog that although I was successful in not thinking about attachment or trauma issues in children for the majority of my recent vacation time, there were a few exceptions. The most notable time was the night all the cowgirls and two guides headed out for our moonlight ride.

Because my horse, Dillon, had developed quite an attitude about being in the middle of the pack and potentially getting kicked, we were always relegated... more

My friend Julie has become quite the expert on the inner workings of the brain. She has been to neuropyschiatrist Daniel Amen’s clinic and has an incredible working knowledge of various parts of the brain and how they function. While I loved neurology in veterinary school, we didn’t get much into “executive functions” of the brain (prefrontal cortex) or the limbic system (emotional center of the brain.) While I am certain there... more