it's beginning to look a lot like christmas

I love the snow on days like today. The sun is shining and the reflection off the snow is so bright and refreshing. We played outside, big boy and little boy pulled around the yard by Momma. Later big boy got to stay outside while little boy and Momma cleaned up the kitchen. How wonderful to have mittens drying on a rack and to share "cocoa" (warm chocolate milk) in a Santa mug along with fresh cookies.

Who knew there'd be days like these? Stories to share? Try anything from Sweden. We like Christmas in Noisy Village by Astrid Lindgren.

things without words

How does one explain mental illness to a small child? Depression is so hard to describe, much less live with. To an angry three year old, it is unfathomable why Daddy doesn't want to talk right now. We talk a lot about how much we love Daddy and how much he loves us. Sometimes Daddy doesn't feel well and needs time to himself. It is ok to feel angry when he does that, especially when we want to spend time with him.

Bebe Moore Campbell does a good job of describing bipolar disorder in her picture book, Sometimes Mommy Gets Angry . A colleague of mine found the book disturbing and thought that it shouldn't be available in a browsing collection. I find that reassuring because mental illness is disturbing. No one wants to talk about it. I hope a child who needs that message does find it in the browsing collection.

Have you seen those commercials with Martin Sheen about mental illness? Argh. "Can she be hepled?" dramatic pause, "Can he be helped?" Reminds me of one of those horrible social studies or health films from high school.