Seed Update and More

No sprouting yet and the remaining floating radish seeds are now resting on the bottom of the water bath. I can't really blame them, they had a pretty good run on the surface. They floated for almost 20 days. I am going to keep planting for at least five more days and after that we will just sit back and watch. There have been a number of sunny days and the sun room, where the experiment is happening. It has been just perfect for starting seeds. You know the old saying a watched pot never boils? Well, I am going to be at a writing conference this weekend and have high hopes that when I return on Sunday the seeds will be showing some sign of growth!

With me well at the conference. I am really looking forward to it.

My oldest stated "those radish seeds stink."

We have been planting seeds for six days now and so far nothing has sprouted. In case you are late in the planting story, our radish and cabbage seeds have been floating in salt water for over 10 days and each day after the first 10 days I have been planting a few floating radish seeds, a few radish seeds from the bottom of the water bath and some of the cabbage seeds (they all sank). We are now waiting to see which ones will grow. If we are able to get any of them to grow we can then determine that those seeds could have traveled in the ocean for that many days and then could have made it to shore (some how) and could have started to grow, building a new plant. With an estimate of 30 miles a day on the ocean current, the seeds will have traveled at least 300 miles.

Here is another picture of the planting team. My oldest stated "those radish seeds stink." So it is now confirmed, they do indeed stink.

And Your a Writer?

So how do you know you are a writer? I guess for some it is easy. They have a love for books. They read in their free time and feel content in the thoughts of other's stories. Maybe they get up every morning and write, there ideas connect with words on the paper and others can relate to what they have to say. Maybe they even have a talent for spelling or grammar. Well, my journey is different.

I would say I am a late bloomer. I was never confident with my grasp of the English language despite getting through UC Berkeley, as an undergraduate in Psychology. I remember taking German in my freshman and sophomore year for my foreign language requirement and realizing I was really learning the basic of English for the first time. Thankfully I was able to get through the requirements and graduate with my BA in psychology 1990.

After my BA, I started teaching preschool and taking classes in creative writing through UC Berkeley's extension. I loved working with two year old's and knew I wanted to be involved with children in my work. Balancing teaching and writing, I was fortunate to work with Adrienne McDonnell a short story and novelist coming out with her first novel this July, The Doctor and the Diva. I remember she was teaching basic creative writing and even then I was thinking I wanted to write for children. I was invited to join a writing group that Adrienne McDonnell hosted in her home. I wasn't able to continue with the group for long but I remember feeling very inspired by the creative process this kind of group provided.

I continued teaching preschool until I was accepted into a masters program in Developmental Psychology at San Francisco State University. After Graduation I considered continuing in research but felt I still wanted to work directly with children. I developed a board story that I still use in my clinical practice helping children with their anger. Then was accepted into JOhn F. Kennedy's Psyd Program, in Orinda California, specializing in clinical psychology. My training emphasized ethnography, writing and clinical skills, all of which have been invaluable in my current career as a Child Psychologist and in my desire to write for children and parents. Where I struggle with spelling and grammar, I make up for it with concepts and flexibility to accept editorial help.

My most recent efforts have been in joining a critique group that we loving call Lula's Bunch. We use to meet in a small cafe (Lula's) on the side of the University of Notre Dame in South Bend Indiana. Due to lots of students and many distractions, we have since retreated to a circle of rocking chairs we found outside a large book store. We now meet every three weeks to exchange our critiques of each other work and to support the writing process we are all sharing. I also attended a writing workshop with a local writer April Pulley Sayre (very inspiring) and am attending my SCBWI conferences offered in driving distance.

So when I ask myself, are you a writer I am certainly coming in to this identity now. I wasn't a confident writer in college and graduate school taught me how to practice writing on topics of many different kinds. I now write for pleasure and for the hope to pass a few stories and thoughts along to parents and my true love, children.

My Planting Team

Here we are on day three of the planting. So far so good. Can't wait for the plants to start to sprout.

Planting and Making Roots

Today is day three of moving seeds from the salt water bath to the earth. My oldest son thinks this experiment is pretty cool although I am not sure he fully understands what we have embarked on. Part of the reason I wanted to do this experiment was to see how the the long project would fair with children. So far, so good although think he just has experiments in his soul. Perhaps it is because his father is not only from England but from Kent the area which Charles Darwin called home. Or maybe it is(me) because I grew up in the same town the well known famous psychologist Eric Ericson retired. He is well known for theories in developmental psychology. I remember meeting him in our church in Tiburon California when I was very young and although I was years from knowing I has a passion for psychology I knew I was meeting an important man. He was quite old, gray and slow moving but carried himself with great confidence. I knew there was something wonderful about this man.

Maybe this research bug I have stems from all the training I was given in my education despite choosing a path of clinical work. Maybe it is just a good way to stimulate stories. Either way, the research and the planting must go on.

And the Winner is...

The first poll of my blog asked what you want to read a bit more about, Children's books I like to recommend in therapy, more about Charles Darwin or my approach towards my work as a child psychologist... and the winner is.... Well it is not Charles, and I can't really say I am surprised. So instead of telling you the winner I better update you on the research that inspired the blog to begin with. I will get the the winner but in reverse order.

So the second runner up is Charles...and here is the update.


The radish seeds still stink and are covered in a slight slimy coat the color of mustard. They were sort of that color to begin so at this point, not as dramatic as I thought it might be. Lets see what 10 more days bring. We are actually at day 12 so that is when the planting will begin. The boys helped me with the seeds and picture will soon follow.

Too Proud Parent

OK, so it is not my news but part of the excitement of being a part of a writing group is that we are all supporting and following what the rest of us are doing. Our group formed around September and I am thankful to say I was the last member to join. We meet monthly (soon to be every three weeks) and we read each others work before each meetings helping each other clarify and tighten our work. We stop what we are doing to read a blog or edit a bit of extra writing because the other has something burring they need some help with. So it is with great pleasure that I heard that one of my group members is close to landing an agent. OK, so it is not official yet and I can't tell who he/she is or who the agent might be but I am just plain excited!

Reading this, I feel very ashamed of the pride I am executing over another writer in my group. I guess writing group members are like supportive parents. I can't tell you how many times I talk to parents about the subtle difference between being proud of what your child had done and letting the child feel proud of their own achievement. (OK, what is this psychologist talking about now.....I know you are thinking it.)

Lets not analyse this to much but once someone gets past the age of, lets say, seven, eight, OK, may be 10, their achievements are really theirs, even if you are the one taking them to practice every day or paying the bill. So despite the fact I am personally connected to this event, rather than saying "Oh, I am so proud" the message to him/her is "oh, you must be so proud of yourself"!

And with this said just think, if I can get this excited about one of my writing group members, what is it going to be like if it is me. Keep posted to hear how things unfold. Oh, this is getting so good!