Friday, November 11, 2011

Fall Happenings

What a gorgeous fall we've been having so far! Except for the recent nor'easter, loss of power, downed tree limbs and rescheduled Halloween festivities, it's hard not to feel energized by the crisp temperatures, bright sunshine and colorful leaves (not to mention an extra hour of sleep recently!). Plus, the Macoun apples are out, our favorite!



While I do require a bit more coffee to get through the dark afternoons, it's a whole lot easier to get up with a bit of light shining through the window in the morning! That caffeine craving is so strong, in fact, I decided to turn my son into my very own Super Grande Venti Turbo Latte:



And he was quite delicious...here's a little optical illusion!



My dear friend Kim Casto, whom I've known for over 13 years, is not only a super-highly trained Pilates guru, successful business owner, and devoted mom, but a generous supporter of her community who not only gives back, but makes it so fun people are lining up to join her! Her annual Pilates for Pink Fundraiser, held at her Pilates studio Bodylines, was a great success, and I was thrilled to be a part of it.


Just last week I was in Dallas, TX to see my friend Ali Brown in action!  I was there to attend Shine, an inspirational conference for women entrepreneurs created by Ali.  This was Ali's third event, and the first time I was able to experience the incredible energy of several hundred driven women focused on achieving success and reaching their business, family, and personal goals--all there for HER!  One of the highlights was meeting Nancy Traversy, the founder of Barefoot Books.  I was surprised to learn that Nancy lives about 15 minutes from me!  I introduced myself and gave her a copy of my book for her to show her editors (keep your fingers and toes crossed!).  But the real show stopper was Ali herself, who led most of the coaching sessions during the 3-day conference. 

 
For the past seven months, this blog and my monthly e-newsletter have been useful resources for families facing any significant health crisis, regardless of diagnosis. My goal was to share articles, tips, links, and other helpful information with anyone dealing with this challenge in the presence of young children, grandchildren, nieces or nephews. In this month's issue (and in the following blog post), I'm excited to welcome my very first guest writer, Larry C. Kerpelman, Ph.D., author of Pieces Missing: A Family's Journey of Recovery from Traumatic Brain Injury. 



In the first of his two articles, you'll learn what a traumatic brain injury is, what its signs and symptoms are, and how to help someone with this critical injury. Not only is this information helpful to those children coping with a brain-injured parent at home, but also for all of us who wish to find the right words to explain to our children how to empathize and interact appropriately and compassionately with anyone we may encounter with a brain injury or other disability. 

This article is also timely as it is Veteran's Day, a day when we must pause and acknowledge those who have voluntarily left their homes and families in order to protect our country.  We won't see another 11-11-11 in our lifetime, so it is a particularly significant day of remembrance and gratitude.  Let's hope that this is the year in which all our troops can finally come home for good.

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