Lice, Ice, Bitches & Barf (LIBB)

"Don't ever let a problem to be solved  become more important than a person to be loved."  -Thomas S. Monson-

I follow a blog called " A Fine Parent " and a recent post featured a quote from Maryanne Jacobson, author of From Picky to Powerful , who noted that "Forcing and pressuring causes kids to eat less and dislike certain foods." Sumitha, the blogger, noted that Jacobson's talk at a recent Positive Parenting Conference was packed . I also just saw an article in NPR yesterday talking about kids and finicky food preferences, " Want Your Child to Eat (Almost) Everything? There is a Way ." I suspect picky kids are a relatively recent phenomenon. Affluence, changes in food production and consumption have played a part. But I'm wondering if seismic changes in parenting styles is the greater variable. Things that used to be perfectly acceptable for kids but can now lead to phone calls to Child Protection Services and legal actions taken against parents include: walking alone to school playing outside alone, in public spaces or at the child's own...

This past academic year was brutal on a lot of fronts. Things really got painful at the end of the year when 3 beloved colleagues announced they are leaving. Another who is even closer is likely to end too. This got me to thinking about whether I wanted to slog on amidst so much bullshit. And that led to applying to different jobs. One of them was still in higher education and involved directing the women's and gender studies' programs throughout the UW system. No word on that, but I'm proud of how assertively I handled the application process. The other (so far at least) was as a trainer in a corporate setting. As a friend put it, this company is basically the empire of their field. They have a reputation for hiring trainers fresh out of college who in turn leave the company pretty quickly. I liked the thought of teaching something so even though the position didn't call for teaching or corporate experience, I applied anyway since I actually have both. I got an ema...