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 Marie on the sibling panel. Wouldn’t it be great to have a brother’s perspective, as well as the thoughts of a newly added in-law to the mix? It has been difficult for Marie to understand our family dynamics. With Kyle and Marie moving back here just months after Amy gets evicted from her apartment … well, it is going to be interesting. I know both of them struggle with why Amy does what she does. I struggle too, but I gave up trying to change it years ago. We can only do what we can do.


We also talked about a dad’s panel. Any of you guys out there that would be interested in adding your two-cents to life as a dad to an attachment-affected kiddo? I wrote an article about “RAD Dads” a couple of years ago, and several of the interviews really stick out in my mind. The second quote in this post came from one of the most wounded dads I have ever met.


Beth didn’t participate in any workshops but she did manage to squeeze in some checkers with Dr. Foster Cline. He was quite taken with her. She works a room very well—in a healthy way, I hasten to add! Not manipulatively but with a charm that exudes from every pore.


With the conference finally behind us, I am really starting to think about and gear up for meeting this potential new Spoolstra. Pursuing this placement has been very much a head approach and not a heart decision, but with my head less busy, my heart is becoming harder to ignore ...

Photo taken at ATN conference: Ken Frohock of AINE, Beth and Dr. Foster Cline