Merry Christmas

What a wonderful Christmas we had! Like a marathon knitter I knit gifts for all of my daughter's teachers -- a Sea cell yarn scarf, a DNA scarf, a Piano Keyboard scarf, a pair of socks, and three Fifth Avenue Infinity Scarves. I am announcing that this is the last year that teachers will get knitted gifts. Next year, family and friends will get knitted gifts only.

Tomorrow begins the "SPRING FORWARD" Kal with the infamous Long Island Friday night knitters. We're using the Rhinebeck yarn. I can't wait.

I'm so out of blog writing that I just better end now and let the blog begin again in 2010.....

New Hip, New Girl

I really, really hate when people don't write in their blogs and yet, I did the evil deed myself. I've been rather remiss the first six months of this year in terms of writing in this blog and for that, I am sorry. In other parts of my life, I've been so very productive.

I moved into a bigger office in Plainview, NY. Actually, I have two offices...one is in Miller Place and the other is in Plainview.

I taught the first graduate course on Selective Mutism this summer for SCOPE. This is an organization that gives credits to school personnel who takes courses related to their skills in the academic area. They are given at a reduced rate. The students were teachers, social workers, psychologists, and speech pathologists and one was a committee on special education chairperson. I loved teaching the course and I loved the quality of work produced by the students. It was a great class!

I've been working very hard in my private practice. I see more patients. My Plainview office is filled to capacity. Some days I only get one break. Miller Place might require that I work later into the evening on some days.

I'm writing more. I have one professional article in the works. I've had this article in mind since I presented at the St. Louis Conference on Selective Mutism a few years ago. I've also been asked to write a children's book. I'm mulling over that idea.

On a personal level, I had a total hip replacement on April 9th. It was quite the experience in more ways than one. Just on the physical side, it was excellent...I got my life back. The day after surgery I was walking up and down stairs. The week after surgery I was driving my stick shift car again. Now, four months later, I feel like I'm in my twenties. I've lost weight. I go to the gym. I feel like a new woman. All the little aches and pains that I thought were part of the fifties are gone. Life is good.....

10 Questions From Inside the Actor's Studio

While reading the Lime and Violet blog, I came across the interview with Ms. Violet whereby she was asked the 10 famous questions made famous by James Lipton from "Inside the Actor's Studio". Here's my version:

What is your favorite word?
Certainly.

What is your least favorite word?
No.

What turns you on creatively, spiritually,emotionally?
People.

What turns you OFF?
Meanness.

What sound or noise do you love?
Music.

What sound or noise do you hate?
Screaming or yelling.

What is your favorite curse word?
Fuck...people don't expect to hear it come out of my mouth. A patient's father once said, "I'm so shocked to hear you curse, I never expected it." Yet, it provides the emotional release and discharge so necessary at certain points in one's life!

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
Cake decorator. My mother was a self-taught baker and magnificent cake decorator and my brother was an acclaimed chef in the Navy. He still bakes to perfection! I can't do it well...only a few things that I picked up from them. But my baby, she has the talent and will one day carry on their skills.

What profession would you not like to do?
Undertaker...I would be too scared to alone with the dead, and besides, I'd miss hearing all of the negative feelings! ;)

If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
"What took you so long?"

Marian

My Second Favorite Topic -- Sock Knitting!

Nothing beats starting a new sock project and here I go! I'm knitting CookieA's "Baudelaire" in Socks that Rock -- Mustang Sally! What a beautiful red color! I'm gifting it to a very strong, sophistocated well known interviewer. She wears a lot of red and I'm hoping she'll like it. I'm a bit intimated by the project, but it's a challenge. I'll try to post some pictures in the future! Marian

Paperwork - The Devil's Work

I really hate paperwork...no, I REALLY hate it! But this year, by golly, I have vowed to do at least 3 hours a day of the darned stuff. To me it is like homework before tv when I was a kid. To me it is like liver and onions before dessert when I was a kid. To me it is like the shot before the lollipop when I was a kid. Why can't work just be seeing patients and knitting? Now that's what I call a fun time. Sigh...perhaps, just perhaps, if I do the 3 hours a day, by February I'll have more time for seeing patients and knitting. Marian

Commitments and Diets

I was reading an article about the successful tips of weight-loss survivors. One of them was to commit fully to the diet. Why is that so difficult? I am fully committed to my marriage, to being a mother, to being a therapist and professional...but I am a complete whore when it comes to dieting. If truth be told, I would be excommunicated from the Church of Weight Watchers for cheating if one could be divorced for unfaithfulness to a healthy eating program. I have good intentions...great intentions, even. I start out faithful enough. I try to do everything right. I read up on how to be a good dieting spouse and yet, in a moment of temptation when I am caught flirting with a much more provocative calorically handsome dish, I fall head over heels into its wonderfully delicious arms! I have to learn to control myself around richly sensual dishes. Oy the deprivation! How to committ? That is the goal for this year....Marian

Vulnerable Parents / Vulnerable Children

It's so sad to hear the news of Jett Travolta. I didn't even know the Travoltas had a teenage son. They kept him protected, away from the cameras, the limelight, the gossip, the tabloids. They tried to protect him. But how much can we protect our children? We do our best, but when something like this happens, we realize it's never enough. We see ourselves in his parents' eyes. Except for the fame, and the fortune...that could be us...vulnerable parents...trying to protect our vulnerable children. Marian

Hi Ho Hi Ho.....

Returning to work was easier than I thought it would be. Work adds a structure to my life that I like. It gives me a predictability that I find comforting. I like my patients and I look forward to seeing them and hearing the stories of their lives...even if most of them can't verbalize them, their lives belie their behaviors and their mutism. My vacation was wonderful and much needed, but work calls me. Last year was devoted to my knitting...this year I will devote to work and family. I want to write one article...at least. Marian

Happy New Year

New years are like new babies...we have lots of expectations, hopes, and dreams for them. We always expect they will bring us more than they can and we never anticipate their disappointments.
This year I'm hoping will bring me the will to do paperwork in my office at least 3 hours a week, the strength to hold my temper when I feel passionately that someone has wronged another, and the discipline to write another article on Selective Mutism. Of course this year will have me improving my health in all sorts of ways like walking, eating healthier, perusing the latest articles on staying younger, and possibly averting that hip replacement for just one more year. Last, but certainly not least, this year will have me holding my family closer and tighter than ever before while we explore many new experiences together....I hope you don't disappoint dear 2009! Looking forward to Mr. Obama and friends....Marian