Conferences

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 is a different type of exhibiting opportunity. For two hours tomorrow night, all conference attendees will be encouraged to tour all the exhibits. Apparently, prizes are awarded for documenting that all tables were visited! I am most interested in seeing how the Attachment & Trauma Network information is received… [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 what I was writing. She said she knows me well enough to be able to translate my words into my voice and “see” me saying it, and she could hear just how maxxed out and tired I was. As unfortunate as her message was, the fact that she knew… [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 to be fakey after that. But it did make things a bit more challenging. Beth’s maturity level tended to drop to… [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 dinner we headed back to our rooms to get to bed. We had to… [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 not above dressing them up to get the ball rolling!!! We don’t dress up much around here, so we have to grab the opportunities… [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 deal of work on their trauma.) I was proud of all three of them … they really blew the audience away with their maturity, their perspective, and their grace and faith. Autumn is already foster parenting! Next year we talked about including my son Kyle and wife… [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 Cline, and I will share some of that in future blogs. I met two adult adoptees, Janet Keall and Ken Huey, and I have lots and lots to tell you… [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.” I hastened to reply that she wasn’t alone. In crisis, yes; alone, no. I wish she could join us at the conference. I will be doing a workshop on disruption and unfortunately I have no lack… [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 be a little slower, but I was wrong. I managed to connect with someone from the Freddie Mac Foundation, the president of the… [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 information about attachment!” YEH! I agree. I have seen folks come in the exhibit hall and make a beeline for our table to grab some literature, and then leave just as quickly … which indicates to me that someone has sent them directly to… [more]