Tag Archives: postaweek2011

Blessed and Grateful in Hawaii 24

Gratitude, Tsunami 2011 • Tags: , ,

Pictures from my camera 086 - CopyLast night was a sleepless night at our home as we gathered our water and checked our hurricane supplies in preparation for the Tsunami.  Yet, we are still very blessed.  While the first appearance of the bare reef off Diamond Head caused fear, Oahu only had minor damage to our boat harbors.  Maui and the Big Island had more damage, but still minor compared to Japan.

I am also aware of how fortunate I am to have so many people who care about me.  Many of my follow bloggers, old friends, and family reached out via Facebook and e-mail to offer prayers and/ or good wishes as they held my family in their thoughts.   My family called me first thing this morning to make sure we are okay.  I am grateful for all of those who reached out.

Hawaii is truly blessed as we were spared devastation from a Tsunami.  I know many of you have already seen footage of Japan.  I ask that you continue to send them prayers.  Many in Hawaii have family in Japan and many Japanese are frequent visitors here, so their loss will be felt here as well.

With Much Gratitude and Aloha,

Sue

Dateline Confronts Bullying Behavior? 6

Birds, Bullying, Bystanders, Dateline • Tags: , , ,

Myna BirdsMyna birds squawk and sound like they are trying to cause trouble in many backyards in Hawaii, and they seem to travel in pairs like some bullies, so I am using them as my bully picture of the day.

I’m not sure how many of you watched Dateline Sunday night, “My Kids Would Never…Bully” after I tweeted it on Friday, but I watched it and loved it.  Two of the bystanders were very brave and spoke up and defended the victim and then continued to defend the victim when the bullying got worse.  Yay Lilly and Isaiah!!!!!!!  Others joined in once one person spoke up.  We really need more of this.  Others also made efforts to support the victim, but some were not forceful enough for it to make a difference.  Bystanders really can make a difference when they are firm and persistent!!!!

I also loved that they emphasized that adults set the tone and actually showed how bad coaching or really any bad authority figure can contribute to escalating bullying and more people joining the bully.  Of note, one girl, who admitted liking Gossip Girl style was easily pulled into joining the bullies.  This brings home a point I made in a previous posts about watching mean girl shows.  You can read it here.  One of the boys was also drawn into helping the bullies, but this was after the bad example set by the “coach” of observing the bullying and then not doing anything to help and in fact making it worse.

Another nice thing they did that I love is they gave links to sites with more information to take action against the bullying.  I also love that Rosalind Wiseman emphasized the importance of the bystander speaking up and being assertive and firm rather than being kind when confronting the bully.  The guy from the Hetrick-Martin Institute also pointed out that calling someone “gay” has become the new way to bully even when the victim is not “gay.”   This happens on sports teams and at school.

The resources they listed are:  http://rosalindwiseman.com

http://hmi.org  (This is the Hetrick-Martin Institute who were also on the show to help.)

http://glsen.org (The Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network)

http://thetrevorproject.org

Do you have examples of bad teachers, coaches, parents, or other adults contributing to the bullying?

Inspiration for Forgiveness 12

Forgiveness • Tags: ,

©DelightfullyDifferentLife.com

Immaculee Ilibagiza is the wonderful woman who inspired me to learn to forgive.  I got the chance to hear her speak and to meet her four years ago, and I encourage any of you who have the chance to hear her speak to go.  I wrote a blog post about this back in September.  You can click here if you missed it.

Today, I found a wonderful article about her that explains how hard forgiveness was initially for her too.  You can read it by clicking on the link below.

Learning Forgiveness 

 

Project Gratitude 2011, Day 56 8

Best of Best on S-O-S Blog, Gratitude • Tags: ,

Pictures from my camera 013

Today I am grateful that this Geico Gecko lookalike lives outside my home and not in it.  Lizards are common in Hawaii and the name gecko did not originate with  Geico who adopted them as their mascot.  I love them when they are outside my home as they eat insects including termites and cock roaches.  I am not so crazy about them when they make their way into my home.  They are also featured in Hawaiian legends.  You can read more about them by clicking on the link below:

Guardian Geckos – History, Facts & Lore Behind Hawaiian Geckos.

Additionally, I am grateful because I am a featured writer this week over at Help! S-O-S for Parents in the When One Door Closes, Another Door Opens series. 

Danette over at Help! S-O-S for Parents is an amazing individual who puts together a monthly Best of Best Edition on the fifteenth of every month that features topics of interests related to children with invisible special needs.  She is always looking for new bloggers to submit posts on featured topics.  Go over and check it out for more information.  She featured two of my articles on bullying related to school issues last week, so I am very grateful to Danette. 

However, Danette’s contributions do not end there.  Please visit her site for more details as she truly has a wealth of information to share.  Here is a hint; she will have featured book reviews in April with book give-a-ways including Delightfully Different.     

Addendum: S-O-S joined with OJTA in February 2012 to form Special-Ism.com.