Here’s what happened-ish: So I was in my psychoanalytic psychotherapy class and one of the instructors started taking about something that happened with one of her patients. I, being a careful listener with a good memory and a person with a capacity to make intuitive links, thought that maybe the patient she was talking about was a patient she talked about a few weeks ago. So, I naively asked her, “Is this the patient you were talking about before?” Even before she answered me I could feel from looking at her face that I had asked the wrong question. Once her eyes had returned to their sockets and her jaw had been lifted from the floor she was able to use her voice to express her shock. “Yes.” She said. But she didn’t say yes like you or I would. She said “yes” as if she was responding to an unwanted insight about the day of her death from a psychotic and smelly psychic.
Her co-teacher then said in accusing tones, as if to underscore their shared shock at my question,”You have a really good memory“. I can tell you that I never imagined someone could make that sound like an insult, but he managed to do so. I defended myself as I felt ashamed and disoriented by his accusation of me daring to have such a good memory, ” I have a therapeutic memory,” I said. And I didn’t say that in any inflated way. It is just the truth. Being a therapist has given me a MUCH better memory. I am able to remember details about my clinical work in a way that I can’t in other areas of my life. Going to a grocery store, I continue to require a list or at least a mnemonic device to remind me that I need milk, bread and coffee (the mnemonic for that is “The caffeinated money cow“).
I was, I can tell you, shocked by their reaction. I tried to quickly make sense of it. I thought of how Bion says to approach clients without memory or desire. I thought maybe that is why I was receiving this kind of unexpected hostility. I was still trying to make sense of the reaction when the women went on to say, clearly in response to me, “nothing that is discussed about patients in this class is to be taken out of this room.” I must tell you that this was the first time any instructor in this class has felt the need to remind us of our ethical and legal obligation to keep confidentiality. It is usually done at the first class and then it is most often done in a spirit of “of course you are all professionals and you will of course keep confidential anything that is said here”. This, however, was the first time in eight weeks that this reminder about confidentiality was given. And, confidentially, I was offended.
The shame I felt before she gave the confidentiality reminder was sizable. The shame I felt after that reminder was HUGE. I was stunned. How did she jump from me making a connection about her patient to me taking her clinical material out of class. Okay, I know I am taking my reaction to all of this out of class but that is different. For the record, I would light myself on fire, endure Chinese water torture, the rack, and any other medieval torture device that the folks who brought you the Spanish inquisition could come up with before I would ever-ever-ever-ever reveal any personal clinical materials about my patient or anyone elses patient. NEVER would I ever reveal anything about a patient—-NEVER. I take my ethical requirement of this work incredibly serious. So I was pretty offended when that was brought up in relation to my question. What I was trying to do when I asked the question was to better understand the material she was presenting. I was trying to make sense of things. I was attempting to more fully understand exactly what she was saying.
This class is broken up into two parts. The first half of the class is run by these two who are freaked out by memory and the second part of the class is run by a brilliant clinician who I have a bit of a girl-crush on( smart, stylish and an incredibly gifted clinicain). When the first half of the class was over I had an attack of “I have to get out of here.” I picked up my cell phone and read an imaginary text. This imaginary text read, “You have an emergency.” I picked up my stuff. I told my classmates and my memory phobic instructors, “I have an emergency”. I walked by the instructor who was waiting to begin the second part of class and I told her the same thing. Even as I said it I felt guilt for my lie.
When I got to my car I was, I think, too stunned and in shock to even know what the emergency was or even why I felt compelled to leave. I drove home in a fog of shock. I arrived home nearly two hours early. Something about how I entered the house made it clear to He-weasel that I didn’t want to talk about it. We, silently, sat on the sofa with Lily and watched a movie. I felt grateful to be at home and happy about my decision to leave early.
The next Thursday at Igor’s, I was talking about the dream I had about my children. I was telling him about how my daughter in the dream had an injury to her eye, only she really didn’t. It was when we were talking about my associations to that part of the dream when the memory of this stuff came to mind. I began to tell him about it. My energy rose, my anger bubbled to the surface and I recounted in agitated tones what happened in class and the story of my fake emergency. Igor, being the brilliant Igor that he is, made the connection “you got in trouble for seeing, just as you did in childhood. You were attacked for your ability to make links. You were shamed for your intuition. It was your seeing that inspired this attack on you, from your parents and from these teachers.” Igor went on, “It was an emergency. Your eye was hurt. You needed urgent care. And you needed me to see this attack.” He was right. And the dream had known this even before I did.
Igor is a Bion scholar. He is the grandpooba of Bionian theory. I asked him if maybe the reason I was met with such harshness was because they were trying to say that memory is bad—-somehow using Bion as the source of their outrage. Igor grew outraged with my instructors, “That is ridiculous, if they are they are completely misreading Bion. Bion isn’t encouraging people to be idiots. He isn’t saying to go into the session without mental capacities. No, what happened is that these instructors envied you–they envied your capacity to make links. That is what happened. This woman envies you and so she attacked you.” I have to tell you that the idea someone could envy me seems incredibly ludicrous. I just don’t get it. And it is so ego-dystonic to think about that I was hesitant to even tell you Igor’s interpretation.
I told Igor that my plan was to return to class next week and not say anything. I would be quiet. I wouldn’t ask questions. I would bring celery sticks to chew on and keep my mouth busy. I complained that it would feel like being in a tomb if I didn’t participate and that I was dreading it, yet it seemed the best way to protect myself. Igor didn’t like this plan, “Your withholding your seeing is not helpful and it isn’t good for you.”
I went to class. I withheld a bit and then I didn’t. Things didn’t go so well. Actually, things went pretty badly. I got to live out my Cassandra complex again. I got in trouble for seeing. Only I didn’t leave this time. I didn’t blame myself. I could see her envy ( embarrassing to admit as I don’t think I am a person anyone should be envious of and yet I know envy isn’t rational). I took notes and documented what happened so I could put it in my course evaluation. I also decided I would not be going back for this portion of the class again. A shockingly simple insight(seeing) came to me that has profound reverberations for my life—-the insight is this—-I don’t have to do what I don’t want to do. I don’t have to go and sit through that class( just one week left of it anyway), put up with their envy and accusation, and I can just go to the second half of the class( the part that I enjoy). I can get out of a place that doesn’t feel good—no emergency required.
Wow. So much of this experience reminds me of what happened to me at the Jung society. Luckily we both have great therapists to provide greater insight. No, you don’t have to go back. I didn’t either. I am the Cassandra of my workplace. I call the BS when I see it and management does not like me because of it…but that’s their problem, not mine
Kudos for standing your ground.
Yeah, actually, it made me think of your experience. It is shocking to me( and yet not) that analysts can be envious of us newbies.
It is never fun to be a Cassandra. But the ability to see is invaluable as a therapist!
THanks, Zen!
I so love this post. Can I say how much I laughed at the witty sentence ref The first half of the class is run by….brilliant!
I love Igor more and I really have no idea of Bion but the fact he got to the nub of the envy so quickly and identified it in context for you is wonderful.
Your resolution is fab and I will forever think that the teachers of the first half are Mandy and Mark from Ugly Betty in the first series before their characters developed!
I would really appreciate if you read my post today – the Opps I did again. I’ve gone in for challenging something and I hope I’ve got it right (right in the sense of context, not me versus another person). Your opinion and how to resolve – my reaction is to remove LLG from my following thing on twitter and my blog roll. I worry this is childish or churlish but in my heart I want to get rid of things that don’t sit well with me views. I am really tolerant of opinions but I got a sense of superiority or judgement that I didn’t like or want to stomach.
xxx
LOL! If you could see these two teachers your correct imagining of them as Mandy and Mark is fantastically hilarious.
I was happy to read your post and I most definitely don’t see you as childish or churlish( Igor wouldn’t either).:-)
Wow, what a write-up. I KNOW how this feels. Sometimes I wonder if my sharp memory is a gift or a curse because I, too, find I’m always personally attacked for it. When this happens at the workplace (like my blog rambling in 2008) I feel it’s just tiring to handle others’ insecurities. I am not a person one should feel envious of, though when any incidences like these happen, I will rub it in their faces what I remember them telling me in the first place.
Talk about selective memory, I do need a list when I have to run errands. But I can remember cases from law school we studied 18 years back, LOL!
That’s why I love your blog, I feel someone’s writing my life story in a much more philosophical and intelligent way
.
xoxoxo.
Really? You are attacked for your memory too? I just don’t get it. I thought memory was a great thing—especially in the work place. Law cases are much more important than remembering the milk( isn’t it?;-).
You are a sweetie! I am happy to write our life story for both of us.;-)
xoxoxo
Arriving at the point in one’s life where one does not have to create a real or imagined emergency to avoid doing things, saying things, being things that one does not want to is a huge personal accomplishment.
Congratulations on that.
It is a big moment. Learning that no is a complete sentence is another big moment.
Thinking things…
Hmm…. I am, of course, curious!
I think your decision to not clutter your life with the negative luggage of others is absolutely the right thing to do, people like that pray on the good manners of others and I have learnt from dealing with my poisonous mother to bat that kind of thing right back at them. (Well OK maybe not to her) An outed bully, (for that is what it is) quickly deflates when confronted. I really loved the speech that Colin Firth delivers about fear to his students in Tom Ford’s Single man. It is spot on and should be shown to all students everywhere they clearly felt afraid of you but instead of admiration for an awesome memory went for the cheap shot; you are worth more than that so well done you for leaving.
I rewinded that Colin Firth speech at least three times. It is brilliant. Actually, the whole film is brilliant.
I could definitely see her terror. I just didn’t imagine that her terror would turn on me so quickly.
That was my instant reaction, too…that they felt threatened. Get back in your place, student, and be silent as we hand down the Golden Wisdom!
Oy.
These teachers are very slim on Golden Wisdom. Actually one of them has such a bad memory that he repeats the same story in each and every class. Ugh!
Y’know LBR I’m a little confused on this one. These two ‘experts’ have been surprised by a technical skill and have then gone on to question your – and your colleagues – professionalism and integrity by their reaction and behaviour in this class. It had such a profoundly negative reaction on you that you were immediately put in your box and had to withdraw from the situation. It affected the rest of your day and played on you so much that it raised itself at your own therapy session.
Now it’s right that this is analysed and thoroughly understood to be put into a proper perspective of course, and forgive me for saying this, but there are other issues here which you seem to me to be avoiding. I understand that you have concerns about confrontation and conflict situations but this is about your professionalism and your calling as a therapist.
People pay you for your insight. People rely on your judgement and your ability to understand the concepts which underlie their situation or condition. Surely professional integrity says you have to protect that and go back to this pair who at best were woefully unprepared for anyone with skill such as your own and at worst behaved in an unprofessional and panicked way themselves.
They need to have an understanding of the impact of their behaviour that day and probably have to be helped to that understanding or there is a risk of a repeat or worse, an escalation, of such behaviour in the future. If the content of the course is beneficial professionally then it might be worth giving them that help.
If they are professional they will see it as the positive it should be and I think you too might feel better in not letting their misjudgment hang around you longer than necessary.
Of course I could also be completely barking…..
Igor I am not.
kind regards….Al.
Sorry – some of this doesn’t read correctly. I dont mean that ‘surely your professional integrity says’ you have to do anything. I absolutely don’t mean to question your integrity. I meant that in the same situation I would go back to them and I think that if you could do so then perhaps you would feel better about it too.
Sorry for that. I should proof read before hitting submit.
mea culpa.
Thanks, Alistair. I appreciate your follow up!:-)
Yeah, I did go back. The going back brought out more antagonism and clear signs that the instructor has *issues* with me. I am writing a second part to this for tomorrow( a quick preview: I called the chair of the department and told her about what happened).
Thanks again.:-)
Not having read any other comments before I make this one, sorry if I am repeating. First of all the be blunt, you are much more intellegent than the instructors and they felt threatened. I had the same things occur to me as I went back to college as an adult. My questions threatened the instructors partly because they couldn’t answer them. Second, I love Igor for his treatment and acumen on this matter.. Just remember this, don’t let people with less gray matter than you make you feel less than. They were just throwing up their teflon shield because you exposed their ignorance. Well, I feel better now, hope you do to. Bottom line, no shame for you, they should be feeling the shame, and secretly I think they did, thus the whole problem.
Yeah, I do think envy and anxiety created this reaction. It was so odd. I just noticed something. I was just curious and I got blasted. It was so odd. It was odder still that I didn’t know why I had to leave until later. I really didn’t know. I just want numb and ran. But now, with Igor’s help and all of your help, I feel MUCH better.
Igor and you were right on. People can be so “little,” petty and jealous…ugly. It’s a shame that it happened there. (I am actually quite surprised that they would even talk about patients in the class, given that confidentiality, ethical thing…I guess they can talk if you can’t!) You? Not a person to be envied? Oh. I beg to differ…in a good way. You are whip smart and beautiful. And a bonified published writer…sought-after even! And getting better every day. Envy in a good girl-crush kinda way. (me) Threatening to someone else who is not secure with their own self, in a kinda bad way…. (teacher) You go girl!
Hi Giggles! So great to see you! In supervision setting it is common for instructors/practitioners to discuss clients for educational purposes. However the supervisor/clinician does it in a way that the patient wouldn’t be recognizable in the world. No specifics are revealed. Just clinical material and vague ages, ethnicity, etc. The clients are discussed in a way that not even their friends or family would know it is them being discussed, i.e. no identifying details. COnfidentiality is key! And this instructor gave no identifying details. It was just one word that she used. As soon as I hear the word I KNEW it was the same client.
And, you, my friend, are too kind. Thank you!!!:-)))
I had to read that first part a couple of times because I thought I’d read it wrong when you said these people were instructors! What a weird reaction and even weirder to connect it to the confidentiality thing.
I don’t think it’s your responsibility to fix their problem– but I do hope you turn in your evaluation, so that they and/or the powers that be, will understand the reason for your absence in that portion of the class. (I.e., it’s because of their poor behavior, not because you are afraid or wrong.)
Yep, they are instructors. One of them is in his late 70′s/early 80′s. Shocking, huh?
I assure you I will be turning in a multi-page class evaluation. My memory will serve me well when I write that up!;-)
It’s great that you remember clinical details and make insightful connections. I am sorry you had to deal with these toxic, envious women instructors but I am so glad you’ve liberated yourself. Yay!
Thanks! It ultimately has made me see that I have skills that are special and unique. I guess not every therapist can remember of make connections(which is shocking, isn’t it?).
I’m a layperson, so I’m not sure if I completely followed why you were upset. It seems to me that if someone should be upset it should be the teacher, who perhaps gave out too much information to allow you to make the connection. I don’t see how you did anything wrong? I think it speaks volumes for your perception. Are you saying that there are some schools of therapy where it is good to approach each session like a blank slate, not connecting one session to another?
I didn’t do anything wrong and why I am upset is that they treated me as if I did. The detail that gave it away to me was a single word. I think the teacher was being careful and she was extremely surprised that I was able to link these two examples.
And, yeah, Bion does say to approach each session without memory or desire. What he meant by that is not to get too rigid in facts and details. He didn’t mean to forget everything.
She’s a poopyhead.
Well said!
Their reaction is appalling! I used to think as we got older we would only be surrounded by mature and deep thinkers who were open-minded with big hearts. Ok, that’s an exaggeration of my naivete! But it’s even more difficult to be confronted with this when one is a matured adult
I do love what you learned from this, I’m just sorry they had to be such asses.
It is shocking to me that these are psychologists, both have PhDs. Both have done analysis( long-term) and this is how they responded to an innocent question. I just don’t get it.
Thanks, FH!
The behavior from the others in the class is truly unfortunate. The passive-aggressive “material discussed in this class is confidential” nonsense is just that. Nonsense.
Good for you in talking with Igor and letting the anger come through and good for him on the input, I love that. In fact, I love the whole post, notwithstanding the feelings of shame in the first class, and then the weird behavior from them again in the next class.
Sending you a smile & a hug!
tp
Thanks so much, Princess Igor was so brilliant in his reaction. I love that man!!!
I think I am a rare person who as a teenager decided that envy was pretty ridiculous. Not that I don’t ever feel it, but when I do, rather than reacting negatively to the stimuli I simply ask myself what about that person do I covet/admire and then I go about seeking it for myself. For instance if it’s better handwriting I work to improve mine. I was really detailed when I worked at the bank before getting married. I got harassed for it, told I was too slow (I wasn’t, and never had a customer complain), but when it came to being off even by $50, the bank manager was never worried because I was so detailed we both knew we’d figure out where it was (I had accidentally given too much back to a customer who brought it back the next day for me!). In the end I was never off (even a few cents can get you in trouble). Never. I had to learn to just ignore the other pick-a-littles and do my job.
These professors are horrible in my opinion because they are allowing base emotion to override teaching the course properly. I think you should remove yourself from the class this last week as well as write an honest review of what happened. Perhaps it will help them realize they’re in the wrong.
I love your approach to envy. I agree that it is best to use envy as in instructive of what we want to become rather than being angry at what we aren’t.
I would sort of love to know what this women thinks of me and yet I don’t know if I could handle hearing her thoughts. Envy can make people think some ugly thoughts. I guess it doesn’t matter and yet I am curious how she rationalizes her behavior.
You know how I feel about those instructors, dahling. They were very inappropriate. Everyone who knows you cherishes your innate ability to make connections. And what a loss for them and their classroom (NOT the other way around).
xoxo
Thanks, Hannah!xoxo
Ay ay ay! (sorry, had to!)
How insighful of Igor to get to the root of this, and how triggering those instructors’ behavior must have been! I grew up in a family with one alcoholic parent, so I get how annoying it can be when someone invalidates one’s (often accurate) perceptions. Shaming was a big favorite control mechanism with both of my parents, and it’s hard sometimes not to react with a lot of anger when people try to use humiliation or shame to “put me in my place.”
Good for your for not going back; I wouldn’t either and I hope you give them an “earfull” on the course evaluation!!
I too grew up in a family where alcohol coloured reality. And I was the one not drinking it was I who saw things very differently. Shaming and alcohol goes hand in hand. It was surreal to feel the same kind of shaming at the psychoanalytic institute as the shame I knew growing up.
UGH – I know well how very, very unpopular truth can be (at home and in workplace). And it sounds like these “instructors” are too wedded to their illusions to be good for anyone.
You are right – we don’t “have to” do so many of those icky things. But for me, the hardest thing is realizing that I don’t have to make myself do these things out of misplaced or imposed “shoulds.”
I am still wrestling with the shoulds, as you’ll see in tomorrows post! It isn’t easy to let go of those!
I am not a therapist. I’m not studying psychology nor have I ever. It seems to me though that there are threads to peoples lives. You as a person with a good memory, linked the situation to another situation around the same person. Could be interesting in a learning context. The person did not have a name and if they were worried about linking, then they should not bring up a patient more than once. They were embarrassed for their own inability to remember this and laid it on you. What, are you not suppose to think? very immature and kind of funny really because they ended up looking silly in my book. I am sure your fellow classmates would have agreed. I have a great memory too and I leave people astonished and worried that perhaps I still remember that one night 30 years ago. Usually I do remember but I keep it to myself. Sometimes its uncomfortable to have a good memory.
love the bion grandpoopa … such a supportive love…and well, these two are two that need to find another job.
glad you found your way to a better place and it is the best course, no matter how long is left….the whole things smacks of something inappropriate given the reaction so my guess is you weren’t supposed to put 2 * 2 together? no matter, xoxoxo
Igor is a grandpooba and a lovely supportive man. Theory and empathy are not mutually exclusive.;-)
No, I don’t think they wanted me to do the math!;-)
meaning: maybe they aren’t “supposed” to discuss patients and they do….
As I explained to Giggles, ” In the supervision setting it is common for instructors/practitioners to discuss clients for educational purposes. However the supervisor/clinician does it in a way that the patient wouldn’t be recognizable in the world. No specifics are revealed. Just clinical material and vague ages, ethnicity, etc. The clients are discussed in a way that not even their friends or family would know it is them being discussed, i.e. no identifying details.” Confidentiality is key and education is always the motivation.
All we can do in this world is see ourselves clearly, right?
Bien sur!
I am so in awe of you
You are a dear.:-)
I’m delighted to know you went back to the class after being subjected to the initial shock of being spoken to so callously. It’s good you plan on doing a course evaluation since you write with such clarity and insight about the difficult situations you encounter. On the other hand you could also drop by and tell them exactly what you saw happening. They shouldn’t be teaching such a sensitive course if they’re going to be unnecessarily defensive.
I could, and might at some point, write up a post on why I know they couldn’t hear the truth. For now it is enough to say that I know for certain nothing could come out of confronting them. But, yes, there will be a long and detailed course eval!:-)
Eeek! The more I hear about the institute, more uncomfortable it makes me. How can people trust therapists who are so raw and hateful? It’s a pity that those teachers were so caught up in their roles that they weren’t able to accept that they could learn from you, and that you’d exceeded them, or seen something they wanted to keep hidden. You scared them. They wondered what else it was that you could see that they didn’t want to see. They wondered what else they couldn’t control about you. I’m sure their warning about professionalism was a rebuke to themselves (not that they would have recognized it as such). They were worried that they had said too much about a patient, if you could connect the dots. I’m sure they were freaked out about themselves and what they perceived as their own breaches, but they couldn’t tolerate that, so they turned it on you.
I am very sorry this happened to you in what should be a safe place, but so proud of you for making something good and powerful out of it. And Igor has totally won my heart.
Exactly! Yes! I think you are right on. And the feeling of animus that was hurled at me when the shaming come out was just unbelievable. I felt like the lunatics had taken over the asylum and I just wanted out.
Interesting how this all connects to the dream, isn’t it?
Igor is also a big Dorothea fan!:-)
I hope next time you see the oh-so awesome ‘teacher’, you say “fuck you very much for the class!” with a smile and walk off with your heels clicking. :-X Mean people don’t deserve to interact with the general public.
ROFLOL! I love you!!!
I couldn’t agree with Amy more.
Me either!:-)
Will Paul Weston continue his practice?
Will the therapeutic relationship morph into a less hierarchical creature?
No.
No.
The conclusion that you came to is inspiring to all of us. To give yourself the respect you deserve by not staying in a situation that demeans and shames you is powerful. I applaud you for it.
Thansk, RL! I feel good about stepping out of the line of fire.
That instructor just felt guilty about talking about a patient in such a way that the patient’s personality was recognizable even if his/her identity wasn’t. The instructor was feeling shame and fear about betraying the patient and projecting it onto you.
I think she thought if I could figure out what I did that I might be able to figure out even more. I assure you that there is no way I could have figured out who this person is in real life. Her fear was totally unfounded. The teacher was presenting the clinical material in a way that she had no reason to feel shame about.
I don’t know much about Bion, but I believe Igor when he says, “You were attacked for your ability to make links.” I think you were misunderstood, and uggg, I hate when that happens, especially when you had no devious or unprofessional intent.
In the library profession (mine), there is a similar protocol to respect confidentiality of patrons.
Confidentiality is VITAL in psychotherapy. I had never thought about the importance of confidentiality in library services. So interesting!
Wow – what a fascinating story. My immediate thought was that she was jealous of your insight. Your insight is entirely in a league of it’s own – and very special. (Seriously, I believe it’s the basis of clairvoyance – ooooh, a word that means clear sight!) It would be a boon to any therapist (much less a regular person). And I would have been so incredibly pissed off by the confidentiality “reminder”.
Thanks, Lovely YOU! Igor agrees with you. And by the way I had a crazy insight into Igor this week. It was kind of funny. Think I will write about it on Friday.
I am still sizzling mad about the confidentiality jab.
It just so happens that I concur completely with WendyB’s assessment of what was actually going on at the time of the incident.
Yeah, I think Wendy has some very good insight on the situation!
Actually, I also agree with Wendy. [And with Pseu about why the response struck you so hard instead of making you feel smug that you'd "caught" them sharing more of a patient than they'd clearly meant to.]
Because you’ve worked through all/most of the situation, I feel ok saying there’s something comforting knowing that all the therapists involved, yourself included, seemed to act from the fiery gut vs the cool head!
But as my gut and head are currently disagreeing with each other, I could be projecting.
By the way: glad you are enjoying 2nd Half Teacher so much. Sounds like you are getting valuable things from both halves of the class, actually…though the lessons aren’t really what Set 1 intended.
I certainly didn’t feel smug. I might have;-) if she didn’t freak out.
Oh, yeah, we therapists are not immune from gut reactions. The good ones, I think, are the ones who make a point of analyzing their gut reactions.:-)
Yeah, 2nd half teacher is BRILLIANT. LOVE her! And, yes, 1st half teachers are teaching me something unintentionally.
I love insights…late reading but had to come and read so I could read the next one…love, m
Happy you visited this post. It makes todays post make more sense.xo
No one ever expects the Spanish Inquisition. Cursory third-party viewpoint: someone’s instructor is a wee bit touchy. Look, you mention something, expect a student to possibly recall. I thought those with the chalk should wish for such things, but then I remember that all you psychoanalyzing types are weird.
No one ever does expect the Spanish Inquisition;-) Wee-touchy, you think? LOL! And, definitely, we psychoanalyzing types are VERY weird!:-)
The entire content of this blog is so refreshingly unique. Your blog has a theme, how totally brilliant!
I love what you said about not having to do what you don’t want to do, this has been a major issue for me in my life. My family labeled me a quitter, and yes I finished undergrad and grad school while raising a child. I recently struggled with dropping a course that I was taking for my own pleasure, but which in reality was providing me quite the opposite of pleasure. I didn’t want to be a quitter, but I quit anyway because I wasn’t happy, and above all else I want to be happy.
Thanks again for giving us the gem of a blog.
By the way, I love that you have a tip jar.