The Sky is Falling: Here’s an Umbrella
so much depends upon a red wheel barrow glazed with rain water beside the white chickens – William Carlos Williams, “The Red Wheelbarrow” Many months ago, my son’s orthodontist suggested “tongue therapy.” We didn’t know such a thing existed,…
Only the Lonely: HSPs and Loneliness
I gazed out the window of the brownstone, wondering how many weekends I had spent alone. At twenty-six, I was living in Baltimore, my third floor apartment looking over trees on what used to be a block of regal homes.…
The Twelve Days of Christmas (for HSPs)
The holidays can be a wonderful time, and a stressful time for all of us. With all the lights, the decorations, the music, the get-togethers and the food come family, friends, and usually — by the time it’s all over,…
An HSP on Giving Ourselves Permission: Sensitivity and Creativity
I often buy books for my children I love, or books that I want to read but haven’t yet. A couple of years ago I bought my son “Art & Fear: Observations On the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking” by…
Only So Much You Can Do
Friday dinners at our house are as simple as we can make them — as simple as any dinner can be for two working parents and two growing boys who eat their weight in food. Frozen pizza from the oven,…
Losing Your Stomach — HSPs and the Spiritual Path
Early summer means carnival season – homemade food served from pavilions by church folk and firemen, amusement park rides set up in fields, hucksters selling a chance to win a stuffed animal, an inflatable sword, a goldfish, or even a…
Framing the Right Picture: Recognizing & Refocusing the HSP Self
I am playing poker with my eleven-year-old son. It’s a snow day, and since I work at a local community college, we’re both home from school. There is play money spread out on my grandmother’s table, plastic coins that clink…