Everett

A long time friend of my kids was over last summer, and we had an interesting conversation.  He (I'll call him Doc here instead of always saying our friend)  counsels and has been using MDMA in some of his sessions.  The discussion was mostly between Doc and Sarah in the context of how MDMA has been used in therapy sessions to treat PTSD and other conditions.  The medicine got a bad rap years ago which led to it being classed as a schedule 1 drug.  But, the FDA has granted therapy designation for MDMA to facilitate more study as it has proved beneficial in certain treatments.  I don't want to go into a long explanation of MDMA and its history and uses.  You can find out all about it on the internet.  And, I feel a little guarded in what I'm saying here as there are many who probably frown upon this. Anyway, this all ties into dealing with the loss of Everett.  As you can imagine, Everett's mom and dad had the extremely heavy burden of dealing...

 While it is not a topic that  really fits with the theme of this blog, it is difficult to not comment on the mass shooting of last Wednesday 9/27.  This one hit way too close to home.  That morning I saw a brief news clip about an active shooter at Annunciation Church, very close to where I grew up.  I was heading out to golf, and tried to get more details as to what was going on and the number of victims.  While golfing, I occasionally checked m phone for updates.  I then had a call from a good friend, Ron, who just left a short message to call him.  I figured it was something about our upcoming golf trip, and would call him later.  I then got a text from a mutual friend, informing me that Ron's 8 year old grandson, Fletcher, was killed in the shooting.  I fell apart.  I called Ron back, and could barely talk through the tears.  He had spent the morning with his daughter and family trying to track down Fletcher.  They st...

I've never really been one to meditate.  I've tried in the past, and within ten seconds, my mind is all over the place.  At a legal seminar a while back, the speaker was raving about meditation and an  app he uses to start every day.  I decided to give it another try.  The app did help and I stuck with it for a very short while.  The one good thing that came out of it was a very simple and common breathing technique.  Inhale for a count of 4, hold for a count of 7, and exhale through your mouth for a count of 8. One night while having trouble falling asleep, I did the breathing thing.  As soon as I did the inhale and held it, Everett popped up.  "Hey papà."  It was such a strong, vivid presence.  He had his familiar grin, and it was a very happy feeling.  I'm not saying he was actually there, or that I was having visions.  I think after 3 years of sadness and grief at the loss of Everett, I was now at a better place where ...