Back to School - Pivoting, Grace, and Hope for the Future

It's no mystery to anyone the stress surrounding back to school this year. The kids, the parents, the teachers, the administrators - we are all feeling it. Whether facilitating distance learning, a social-distanced classroom, or combinations of both - it's all new, uncharted, and with challenges. Vice Principal Lindsey Howe talks with us about what it looks like at her schools. What have the challenges been? How can parents team with schools for a successful year? What are ways we can help our kids adapt?

Parenting, Education, HealthNancy MettlerAugust 25, 2020back to school, education, school, parenting, educators, pivoting, pivot, grace, hope, pandemic, safety, elementaryComment

Back to School - Or Not?

It's not easy. Concerns about health and wellbeing. Concerns about academic rigor. Concerns about social and mental health. Concerns about getting people back to work and surviving financially.

There is a lot for both families and educators to consider about the transition back to school this year. Much as with everything else about this time - it looks different all over the country.

Duality exists with both wanting to stay safe and wanting to get back to school. And that's okay.

I hope that with this you can feel heard. That you can accept your decision or make progress in coming to one. That we can see and accept the decisions of our neighbors and friends with understanding.

Diastasis Recti, Postpartum and Creative Intimacy as Parents - with Dr. Rose Schlaff

What happened down there? Dr. Rose Schlaff discusses some of what might be lingering for a woman after pregnancy. How our hormones can have further implications on our desire and comfort during intimacy postpartum. Honor your inner wisdom and be gentle with yourself. (Go back to Episode 5 on ways to communicate with your partner if you're experiencing discomfort or pain and set healthy expectations.) Ever wondered how to pronounce Diastasis Recti? Have you heard of this possible cause of the "mommy pooch"? I don't love that term but diastasis recti can affect our core, lower back, and pelvic floor leading to strained muscles, pain, incontinence, and pain during sex. Feeling tired? Feeling unsexy after a day of playdough and perpetual snack serving? We discuss getting creative with foreplay, connecting to each other, and connecting to ourselves in order to shift between the aspects of our lives and feel ready to connect physically.

What is successful sex for you? with Dr. Rose Schlaff

Dr. Rose and I discuss sex through the lens of being an individual person, a partner in relationship, and as a parent. Discovering our own sexuality and what intimacy looks like to each of us. What is success for you? Orgasm? Pleasure? Connection? Rose guides us in talking to our partner about intimacy especially for those experiencing pain. She also provides a guide for our listeners to help start the conversation in a fun way. Check out the link below! We talk further about what be causing or what pain during sex might feel like, and how pelvic floor therapists can assist in endometriosis. Did you know when you watch a scary movie it's your pelvic floor that tenses first? And that 95% of people with lower back pain have some sort of pelvic floor dysfunction? And that it's also related to incontinence, in adults and both bedwetting and constipation in children? Whoa, right?