by Jenny Brackman | Sep 25, 2021 | Uncategorized
National Daughter’s Day… What a privilege to be an instrument of generational change. With each milestone and opportunity they experience that I was deprived of, I’m grateful for the resilience that gives me freedom and joy to escort them through...
by Jenny Brackman | May 28, 2021 | Uncategorized
Our Dobson Ranch home of 16 years closed today in the smoothest transaction we could asked for. Here is a Jenny-style reflection of 16 years of “Place”. What does it mean to live for 16 years in one home? I moved a lot as a kid — 10 times between 6...
by Rebekah Brown | Apr 5, 2021 | Uncategorized
No-Talk Rule – This foundational dysfunctional family rule demands children never tell the truth to outsiders and never speak up to their abusers. Blurry shapes floated in and out as I lay on the operating table trying to wake up. The smell of antiseptic burned...
by Mollie Gardner | Apr 2, 2021 | Uncategorized
Dented cans are cast aside, although they are not broken. A dent is not the can’s fault, it did not decide to get dropped, or kicked, or mishandled. It just happened. The dent can’t be removed. The dent is on the outside of the can, it cannot be hidden or disguised....
by Rebekah Brown | Mar 31, 2021 | Uncategorized
The Threat of Peace Hypervigilance: The state of being highly alert to potential danger or threat I sat on the floor practicing my Forward Facing trauma techniques as I rubbed my hands across the thick bedroom carpet. Grounding myself in the present, I took a deep...
by Rebekah Brown | Mar 24, 2021 | Uncategorized
The Friend of Love – Resiliency My best friend is moving away. She’d been dropping hints for months, but I decided to retreat behind a wall of denial and hope for the best. The best was not to be. Ellen is moving, and there isn’t anything I can do about it. We...
by Rebekah Brown | Mar 16, 2021 | Uncategorized
The Stories We Tell Ourselves – Emotional Regulation My first grade year was the first time in my life I felt understood. I loved everything about school. The snacks, the smell of mimeographed worksheets, learning how to read and write, the playground, and most...
by Rebekah Brown | Mar 9, 2021 | Uncategorized
Fight or flight and emotional regulation The desert of the Southwestern United States has a strange, stark beauty all its own. Gorgeous sunsets, rock formations and deep canyons accented with spiky cactus resemble another world. If you grew up back east like I did,...
by Rebekah Brown | Mar 4, 2021 | Uncategorized
Fight or flight: the instinctive physiological response to a threatening situation, which readies one either to resist forcibly or to run away. I thought I was safe. At four years old, I believed if I couldn’t see you, you couldn’t see me. I had secreted myself away...
by Jenny Brackman | Feb 26, 2021 | Uncategorized
I’m afraid. Can I get there and back before dark? Now I’m in a rhythm, going fast, breathing harder, yet still able to inhale the Sedona beauty that never gets old. Last mile now. Steep ascent. Crisp air chilling. Sun descending. I’m here before dark and yeah,...
