“Out of the Mouth of Babes…”

By Stephen C. Schultz

In my line of work, I witness daily the struggles that teens endure and the pain that families suffer. At times, it feels as though we are fighting a losing battle.

There’s no doubt that everyone carries their own personal struggles and burdens—my family included. However, some individuals seem to navigate these challenges with grace, composure, and a sense of perspective that inspires those around them.

The posts below are particularly special to me because four out of the five were written by my daughter. Over the past few years, she has occasionally written pieces and then asked if she could share them on my blog. I’m always happy and proud to do so! I hope you enjoy her thoughtful and heartfelt work.

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Comments

SDQ said…

This is a greeat post

May 22, 2023 at 3:48 PM

Lessons I learned from a childhood experience with bullying

By Stephen C. Schultz The dew around the window was starting to bead up. In a classic case of chaos theory, the little beads of water gave way to gravity and randomly bounced and bumped their way to the window sill like a steal marble in a pinball game. There was a small pool of water in the cracked and peeling beige paint. I sat facing the window, staring at the small engraved stone nestled in the flower beds. There weren’t many flowers at this time of year. Mostly rhododendrons and Oregon grapes reaching skyward from the damp bark mulch that covered the planter area. The month of January in Eugene Oregon was filled with days and days of mist and fog. In fact, pretty much from October through June was filled with fog, rain, mist, showers, freezing rain and occasionally snow. The local weathermen didn’t bother with predictions about the chance of precipitation; they took pride in developing new adjectives to describe the type of precipitation and how much you can...

Sometimes the Best Way to Help Is to Get Out of the Way

By Stephen C. Schultz Five years ago, I listened to a podcast conversation between two people I know and respect. Today, I found myself thinking about it again. I was talking with a potential Oxbow Academy student and his family, and as we discussed some of the challenges they are facing, I found myself using several of the principles that came up in that conversation. When the call was over, I thought, Where did I hear that before? It didn't take long to remember. I went back and found the podcast. It was a conversation between Dr. Gwen Palafox and Dr. Jared Schultz called The Developmental Process of Transitioning to Adulthood . And there was another reason the conversation was familiar. Jared is my younger brother. I had introduced Jared and Gwen to each other several years ago. I have had the opportunity to visit with Gwen a couple of times and have exchanged quite a few emails with her over the years. I have always appreciated the way she approaches her work and the way she...

The Difference Between Finding a Provider and Finding the Right Care

By Stephen C. Schultz The thump, thump was unmistakable and annoying all at the same time. With my eyes closed and my head in that fog that only happens as you are coming out of sleep, I was beginning to realize the thumping was the sound of cars on the 10 in Southern California, driving over an uneven crack in the cement. Yes, it was early. Still dark outside. I rolled over and looked at my phone. As is usually the case, my five o'clock alarm was about to go off in about 30 seconds. There was a quick awakening and a sharp focus as I reached for my phone, hoping I could turn the alarm off before I actually had to hear it. I had a reason for being up so early. I was attending a conference in Southern California, but I needed to speak with a family living in the Eastern time zone. Their day was already well underway. Mine was just beginning. I got out of bed, made my way to the small hotel desk, opened my computer, and started preparing for our call. They had a 12-year-old son. Thre...

The Interpreted Rock

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