Hello everyone:
Been a long time since i posted to the blog. Here's an update.
November was very very busy:
Champ, the kitten :::::::: had another serious health scare, but we got it under control in about 3 days. He's doing wonderfully now, by the way. He will be 10 weeks old on December 10th. He's getting stronger and very playful, especially with my other younger cats. Althought his stripes are getting more visible, he is still a pink cat; I don't know if his fur will ever be orange. He's a beige-y pink, and i have to watch my feet since he's about the same color as the carpet. I still crate him at night, but he's loose in half the house in the daytime. He hasn't figured out how to climb the gate yet, so that's the next challenge to keep him safe when he gets the run of the house.
Coaching Research Symposium ::::::::: Denver, November 13 prior to the start of the ICF conference. How spectacular was that!!! One day of hanging out with researchers, psychologists turned coaches, and other technical people. Dr. Tony Grant of the university of sydney, australia, gave the Symposium keynote, and i hear that his tape was the best seller of the entire Conference!!! Not surprised ... he gave us a look at how the research community sees coaching ..... as an emerging profession that needs evidence for all the results/benefits we've so far just asserted as being true. tony presented an extensive literature search of papers written about coaching, the earliest of which was in 1937. While the approach is from the field of psychology .... and tony's field is coaching psychology ..... there are solid roots for coaching as we know it in studies of human change and human behavior from recognized scientific fields. Tony calls for a scientist-practitioner in coaching; one who not only understands research but can do it. Yes, that's where we are now. I'm very excited about this next generation of coaching student.
Absence of You Seminar ::::: Chicago, November 15 and 16 was an opportunity to check out a Coachville offering that has received favorable and unfavorable reviews. I think the confusion has arisen because this is not coaching training ..... this is personal development training for the coach. It uses the 12 Core Dynamics created by Tom Stone and translated into coaching language and style by Tom and Dave Buck, which are essentially an overview of the source of problems a person might have. While I found the training interesting ... and really love Tom Stone .... I think this is a whole separate school of thought using psychological concepts and approaches that must be used with GREAT discretion by coaches. At this time I don't see the link to traditional coaching, which focuses on people's strengths and getting in action. The Core Dynamics are focused entirely on feelings and problems whose sources lie in childhood trauma. While I found it engaging and interesting, I feel it can be inappropriately applied in the hands of untrained coaches. This is a tool to use only for your own development.
Thanksgiving with the family::::: What can i say? Every new experience brings me more and more into what it's like to have a community and have a family. My brother Gary drove to Frederick from Colorado springs for the holiday. It was great to see him, and we actually spent some one-one time for the first time in several years. We also joined my sister, her children, their children and spouses, and a set of inlaws for an old-fashioned Thanksgiving: dinner with EVERYTHING about 2:00; football game watching the Dolphins kick the Redskins to the curb; little nap there is the recliner; time to eat again while the guys set up the board games. Then the entire family, kids and all, around the dining room table playing Outburst and Pictionary. Yelling and jumping up and down and lots of great fun getting to know people on a whole different level, e. g. my sister and her two daughters should never be allowed to be on the same team; they can read each others thoughts! and then coffee and more dessert and drive home in the crispy night. It's always a revelation to set out the 28 miles to Frederick on a freezing clear night. The silence, the vastness, the huge aloneness is overwhelming. And being able to see lights 20 miles away conveys the awesome beauty of this land.
Now, we're into the Christmas season. The Senior Citizen Organization had the traditional Christmas meeting today with 3 tables loades with food. Probably 50 people came and had delicious food and coffee, of course. And the Klipfel brothers a quartet provided entertainment. What can I tell you? These are guys who are farmers, ages from probably late 30's to maybe late 50's and sing wonderfully. They entertain at various gatherings around the county. And they are serious about their harmony and their music. Strong, clear, rich, manly voices singing Christian songs and Christmas carols. I had to leave early for a coaching commitment, but I felt like I had been in a sacred place.
SENIOR LUNCH: I join friends in the community for lunch Monday thru Friday. Arnold, our unofficial leader, who just turned 88, always leads the prayer for dinner grace (noon is dinner up here). I am always touched by this; that we pray together in a public place. This is one of the many little graces that touch my heart so profoundly from living here.
ALPHA CIRCLE XMAS PARTY: Last night I went to a gathering of 18 women who form a local social group that was founded in 1937. The group is composed of women from their 30's to their 80's. We each represent some special segment, and meet monthly October through May. The group takes care of the flowers at the park by the river and the cemetary. We had a beautiful sit down dinner in the home of one of the members; served by the refreshment committee, wine and all. Afterward we sang Chrismas carols, and then opened our gifts from our "secret sisters." I got this amazing stuffed snowman holding a basket of homemade cookies and chocolates. It's big enough (without the basket) as a sleeping nook for Champ. I was just tickled. And so it goes. Again, prayers before dinner. It's such a whole, wholesome loving place to be.
more later ...... love shirley
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