Tag Archives: postaweek2011

Gratitude for Differences and Acceptance 15

Birds, Differences, Gratitude, Tolerence • Tags: , ,
Mejiro

©All Rights Reserved. You may share this photo only with a link to this blog. Please do not steal Katherine’s photo.

Today I am grateful for Katherine who shared this wonderful photo of her Merjiro, aka Japanese White-eye, with me and gave me permission to use it. The white around his eye gives him his name and makes him unique like many people.

Thank you to those of you who take the time to get to know and truly work to understand and accept children and adults with differences.  The support you give is greatly appreciated.  Hopefully in the future others will follow your example.  Blessings to all of you for all you do!  God willing hopefully one day in the future we will see an end to bullying of all types.    

There have always been people with differences and without them we would not have music, movies, books, cell phones, laptops, iPads, iPods, or so many other delightful things most of us enjoy.  The next time you meet someone who appears unconventional please take the time to see what wonderful insights that unique person has to offer.   

Still Learning and Adapting 16

Forgiveness, Gratitude • Tags: , ,

Easter of Long Ago - Copy“Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”  Colossians 3:13.  What better time to discuss forgiveness that the weekend we celebrate Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice for our forgiveness.

Anger destroys us not others.  Immaculee Ilibagiza knows this more than anyone and she is the one who taught me how important letting go of the anger is.  Still, forgiveness is not easy and being in an environment that constantly reminds one of an emotional injury does not help.

Positive environments along with support and understanding help us to reach a place of peace and allow us to learn to let go of anger so we can move on with our lives.  Therefore, our family is once again adapting and learning as we work to forgive others.  Our family will join many of our fellow bloggers in the world of homeschooling for the 2011-2012 school year.

Today, I am grateful once again for the support and understanding of the blogging community and especially to those I mentioned in my previous post.  I am grateful that K12 International Academy has an amazing high school diploma program.  I am grateful that my husband and I are in complete agreement in our choice.  We are a team and we will do whatever it takes to help our children succeed in life.

Wishing you and yours a blessed weekend!

The Boy Who Fought Back 10

Bullying, Bystanders, Viral Videos • Tags: , ,

No, I am not posting this video.  Too many others have posted it already.  The boy from Australia who fought back admits he finally snapped from bullying.  He is not a hero, but he deserves understanding and compassion.  He had experienced repeated acts of bullying before this video went viral.

I certainly understand why he snapped.  I also get why so many think he is a hero.  I am proud of this young man for gaining control after he threw the bully.  He did not keep attacking the bully although he could have.  For the record, his father does not believe violence is the answer, nor do I.

You can see a video that includes the boy’s explanation of why he snapped, and comments from his older sister and his dad, as well as copies of doctored versions of the video that went to multiple countries, by clicking on the link below to Alan Eisenberg’s blog.  I hope you will comment at Alan’s blog and then return here.

Video of Boy Who Fights Back Against Bully « Bullying Stories.

What is the answer?  I still believe the answer is getting bystanders to help and I still believe schools need to reward them for reporting bullying and for standing up to the bullies.  I also believe the bully needs help so they can learn to treat others with respect.  We need programs that rehabilitate the bully.  They then need to give back by teaching the importance of respecting others to their peers as a form of community service.     

Books for a Meme 16

Autism Spectrum, Books, Fun Stuff, Gratitude • Tags: , , ,

Today I am grateful for this meme and for Rachel at Journeys with Autism who doubly honored me by tagging both my book and me in a book meme.  I was grinning from ear to ear when I read that she likes my novel and then further down the post she tagged me for the meme because she knows how much I love books.  But alas I fell off the blog sphere radar was distracted this week.

Here are the rules for the meme:

1. Take a picture of the books you are reading currently and add them to your post.  (I am cheating altering the rules and including one that I recently finished.  I think you will be able to figure out why.)

2. Describe the books and if you are enjoying them

3. For every book you are reading, you have to tag one person.

4. Leave the person a comment letting them know you tagged them.

Here goes:  My books - Copy

I recently finished reading The Uncharted Path: My Journey with Late Diagnosed Autism by the afore-mentioned Rachel B. Cohen-Rottenberg.  It is an insightful gem which I highly recommend especially to those of you who are parents of girls on the spectrum.  You can find out more about it on her blog or at Amazon.com.  Rachel, thank you so much for sharing your life with us!

Love and War: The Civil War Letters and Medicinal Book of Augustus V. Ball edited by Donald S. Frazier and Andrew Hillhouse and transcribed by Anne Ball Ryals, was my birthday gift to myself.  This book is actually about my family.  Dr. Augustus V. Ball was the brother of my direct ancestor.

There are two letters in the book from Augustus’ dad who was also my ancestor.  I have been skipping around the book because of family ties, but I love what I have found.  This book includes information from pre-civil war to its aftermath along with medical recipes for treating various illnesses.  I think today we would call him a naturopath.

Now you know my secret; I am a history fanatic buff and when I have that rare spare moment I get self-absorbed lost in family history.

Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks is an enjoyable easy read about a young woman named Katie who has a mysterious past.  I am only half way through it, but so far it is entertaining and a good way to escape from reality for a while.  I always enjoy reading Nicholas Sparks’ novels.  It is my guilty pleasure.

May You Always Have an Angel by Your Side; edited by Douglas Pagels is a collection of quotes and poems about angels another of my favorite things.  I definitely believe in angels both in human form and otherwise.

So now you know!  I either focus on autism or escape it depending on my mood and how much time I have.

Now to pass on the fun I am tagging:

Suzanne atAutism Mom Rising because I know she is a very spiritual person.

Lisa at Karma Per Diem who is also a southern belle who loves books.

Kelly at Puzzle Piece Princess who certainly understands the need for more education about how autism affects our girls. 

Grace at Blessed Elements when loves reading, positive messages and angels as much or more than I do.