Tuesday Blog 1

Hello everyone!

Last night after the Gallery of Gatehrings I went to the 3rd floor to watch the fire works. in Sandy Thorne's room along as many leaders and families as could fit inside. They were beautiful and it was fun to see them at eye level. We all sat in the dark ooohhing and ahhing in unison. (We had no choice, Sandee made us, LOL)Some adventerous folks made their way down to the Mall to see the fire works in person but I didn't think I had enough oomph left to walk 45 minutes each way or the courage to expereince the terrorist drill the city had planned.

Once the fire works were done I ZZOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOmed down to the ballroom again to be photograpghed with all the other scholarship recipients.
No one was there! argh! I wondered around a bit and I ran into my roomie Susi and some other gals. They seemed to be in search of a party... fortunately I had one in my conference bag so we decided to meet in Pam and ??'s room for drinks and snacks. Once there we discovered that you could a horison full of fireworks from other towns outside of Dc it'self as well as renegade fireworks in the allways near the hotel. We mixed a few gin and tonics, munched on almonds and "dirty chips and got down to the busines of getting to know each other while watching the the firworks showering over the city lights. There were leaders from all over the USA and the world in the room! WOW!!


Today I went to Making Sense of Adolesence: Understanding and dealing with teenagers by Gordon Neufeld. The very short versiosn is that the USA culture has stretched adolescence out to outrageous lengths. He spoke about the confusion our teens go through as the make the passage between childhood and adulthood with rituals to guide them and connect them. He also explained the emotions they go through in adolescencs and that it's normal to feel dark and lost and isolated... it's a time of growing idealism and suden realization that your parents and other adults aren't perfect!! that it's part of the impetus to find a passion and a direction in life. Staying connected and wooing your teen, maintaining a relationship is important. He emphiasized that before you teach you need to connect... they are egocentric, so asking them to explain what they think, what their ideas or solutions might be first will engage them... then you introduce your perspective or explain your expectations.

Lunch~
I sat at the Minnesota/ Dakota's table with Crystal the gal from Appleton and a Leder from Saudi Arabia. We figured that since we either live close enough to the Area or have lived in Minnesota sit at the the table.

Okay, off to my next session. I'll try to catch you up later.

Gail