
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 match Dora’s, rather than the other way around. All in all, it was an experience.
It was great to once again connect with many folks I only see yearly. This year I didn’t register for any of the sessions, as I knew I would be hard pressed to do much when I had the girls in tow. My job was to run the booth, and I even got off easy on that, as there were many ATN staff members in attendance. It was a good thing, as Dora had two long therapy sessions.
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But when I did work the table, I connected with some fabulous parents and therapists, and even a couple of folks whose mission is to get school districts up to speed on how to deal with trauma and attachment affected kids. One was a school counselor in Idaho who is a good friend of Foster Cline. Foster told her to check out the ATN table, and I thoroughly enjoyed visiting with her. If we could have a school counselor like her in every school, we would all be dancing in the streets. I will be blogging more about her in the future.
Last night several ATN staff members and our new friend Barbee (the gal I met on the plane on the way to the conference) sat in my room and talked for a few hours—oh, and of course, ate the obligatory chocolate. Julie (Goddess of Marketing), Tricia (Membership Director). Lorraine (Administrative Assistant), Barbee and myself all sat around discussing pertinent things like husbands, (including how many we had each had!) and activities one does with husbands ... It was quite hilarious!
More conference details to follow.
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