ASKING THE CALENDAR

Look at the fall calendar! What is coming up before the mid-November??
An interview on national CBC
A memorial speech for a beloved client and friend,
A talk to the Boys and Girls Club conference,
A conversation with teachers on disability
Three conversations with ALS patients
Two conversations with Alzheimer Disease family caregivers,
A talk to kidney patients, on Sunday because the dialysis units are closed that day,
Two talks to families derailed by addictions,
A training day for foster parents,
A training day for mental health workers,
Training days for child protection workers,
A dinner speech to parents of severely disabled children,
More on-line lessons for hope students,
Supervision for two baby counsellors,
Supervision for a provisional psychologist,
Counselling as usual
And yes, ironically--
A speech at a conference on compassion fatigue.

How do you keep from being Pollyanna
Is the question a reporter asks.
And I say it is not that hard to keep from being Pollyanna.
If you act like Pollyanna, people in pain will turn away
Leaving you talking to yourself.
They will only tolerate Pollyanna
When they think there’s a reasonable chance that you feel some of their pain.

It’s a strange world, really.
Strange that you can lead yourself by hearing what you say.
The research says that young people who do word puzzles with God words in them Demonstrate more generosity than others who do word puzzles without the God words.
My instinct says I am not doing much.
Maybe not pulling my weight this fall.
Maybe I’ve said that I’m not doing much
So I look for a second opinion.
What does the calendar say?