As you are reading this, I will be on the road heading to a resort in Osage Beach, Missouri, in the Lake of the Ozarks region. Today is the beginning of a conference of the Missouri Coalition of Children’s Agencies. According to their website, they are:

… the premiere membership coalition who represents abused and neglected children and the people who care for those children. The coalition advances excellence in child welfare practice.

This... more

One of the many good friends I connected with at the ATTACh conference was Pat Johnston, writer of many thought-provoking and insightful comments on this blog. Pat and I continued our conversation about Amy and my recent involvement in the latest chapter of Amy’s life. Pat gave me a big hug which is always a welcomed and welcoming greeting. She made it clear her concern centered on me and how much exhaustion she heard in... more

I started a blog earlier this afternoon but didn’t get very far. I just didn’t have much time to write while at the conference. The usual networking blitz combined with managing both girls proved to be all I could handle. The jury is out on whether or not taking two girls was a good idea. (It's not like I had much choice, though ...) Two was exponentially more complicated than one; especially when Dora’s contribution was either a monumental pout or a manic and manufactured “happy.” She was real during therapy and did manage to do some great work, so she had a good reason... more

I am incredibly tired tonight. Our flight was two hours delayed yesterday, and so we arrived at the hotel around 7:30 PM local time, 6:30 our time. We were tired and hungry. We picked up a friend at the airport … a “RAD mom” from Topeka, Kansas that we met on the plane. She was by herself, so the girls and I incorporated her into our merry band and she caught a cab with us to the hotel. We were just getting out of the cab when Nancy Thomas and a couple of other moms and therapists walked by on their way to dinner. We unloaded our bags and joined them.

After... more

We’re on the road again … tomorrow morning, bright and early, we head to Providence, Rhode Island for the ATTACh conference. I have spent all day packing for me and two lovely young girls, as well as amassing all the ATN booth stuff and newsletters and beanie babies and booklets for sale, and … and … and … As I was gathering clothes for the three of us, Dora and I made an “emergency” run to Target for some last minute fancy duds. Beth did such a great job of working the exhibit hall at the NACAC conference … I’m certainly... more

Since Julie so rightfully bragged about her daughter, I’d like to take this chance to brag about mine. Both Stephanie and Beth were in attendance at the conference. Stephanie participated on the sibling panel, along with Kay and Autumn Hager, a mid-to-late 20’s adult who lived with a very dangerous, very family-damaging child about ten years ago. (Her PTSD was still evident as she remembered her family’s experiences, and they have all already done a great... more

I apologize that you haven’t heard much from me this past four days, but as I suspected would happen, the conference required 200% of my attention. I couldn’t walk across the lobby of the hotel without being stopped by a dozen people. We listened and learned all day and then networked and socialized at night. I fell into bed and got up and did it all again the next day.

I am beyond beat today, but I have so very much to tell you. I had lengthy conversations with Foster... more

As this blog drips into the system I will already be at the Elms Resort, welcoming our pre-conference speakers and attendees and ATN board members as our second annual conference kicks off. Yesterday my phones were ringing like crazy as I managed home issues, conference issues, and “regular” ATN issues. I have families in crisis all over the place, with kids blowing out of placements and families searching for answers. One mom wrote on a bulletin board recently that she was “tired of feeling all alone.”... more

It is mid-afternoon and I am sitting on the couch at my friend Karen’s home, with my lovely Beth sitting next to me. We both just awoke from a much needed nap, and we have about two hours before we must leave for the airport. We are still in Tampa, after wrapping up the NACAC conference at lunchtime. Julie was with me at the conference, but she left before sun up to fly to Atlanta and then hop in a car and start her drive to Kansas for our conference next week.

I thought this morning might... more

I am so tired tonight I can hardly think. Another day spent talking to folks at the booth here at the NACAC conference in Florida. As I mentioned in this post, I am shocked and pleased at how much traffic we are receiving at our booth. I have heard social workers and agency personnel talking about what they wanted to take home to “their parents” and heard them say, “I think what they really need is the... more