St Thomas

My wife and have spent the last two days working at the Adolescent Health Conference in Madison, Wisconsin. Two hundred professionals—school counselors, teachers, psychotherapists, physicians, and case managers—attend this annual conference put on by the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Our Samaritan Family Wellness Foundation is honored to support this conference as a sponsor, as well as being presenters. The secular division of our foundation creates teen, parent, and adult resources for the professionals who are on the front lines working with the mental health challenges face by young people and their families today. The need is more significant than ever because the mental health challenges in our young people are great. One of the benefits of being at a health and wellness conference is the opportunity to learn from the experience and expertise of other presenters. A workshop on the benefits of helping teens to develop mindful self-compassion skills was the…

Recent concerns about the coronavirus remind us of just how connected we all are to each other, and how quickly a virus can spread. Here in the North, it is winter, which means it is also cold and flu season. This means that on any given day, we are either the one with a cold or we are likely encountering someone that has a cold. So the question that is never far from our minds is, “Am I or is he/she—contagious?” When I have a cold, I certainly never intentionally want to spread it to others. At the same time, though, I sometimes am so excited to see someone that I haven’t seen for a while that I hug them or shake their hand without thinking. I have also been known to show up at work when I am sick, only to be sent home by colleagues who rightfully request…

I have spent more time jumping on a trampoline in the last three months than I have in the previous sixty-four years of my life. The gift of all these visits to an indoor trampoline park has come via my grandchildren. I cannot thank them enough for both the uncontrollable laughter we have experienced, as well as introducing me to such a wild place where I have relearned an essential lesson during all the hours we have spent bouncing together. In the midst of our fun, I have discovered that when you are bouncing on a trampoline, you cannot possibly think about anything else other than, well, bouncing on a trampoline. It takes every ounce of my concentration to be sure that I do not lose my balance, drift too close to the edge, or stumble over my grandchildren. There is not a care or worry I could possibly think…