"...we part with tender relations stretching far behind us, that never can be exactly renewed..."
Oh Scot, what a great thing you did, to share the world with the kids in that way. It could very well be the first time some of them have ever had or felt that sense of personal space.
You certainly started me in by getting me thinking how beautiful New England is this time of year. Setting things up with the change of season and change of wardrobe was such a subtle way to introduce what would be just a major change in that boy's outlook.
The way that boy responds to you is no different from the way your readers do. The bond of trust to make is the same.
Thank you.
liz
Liz:
Thank you so much. This essay was combined from two different writings I had started during this last week. With both I ended up stuck and couldn't quite figure out where I was going with either one. My first essay focused on what I like and associate with autumn and my second reflected on the experience I had a few days ago on the hike with the student. As I was deliberating over which one I should work on, it hit me to combine both. With writing I sometimes feel like I'm literally stuck inside the proverbial paper bag without a clue as to how to get out. It takes a while sometimes to figure out not just what I'm trying to say, but why I'm trying to say it as well.
It is beautiful here this time of year. I appreciate your thoughfulness in the comments you write.
Scot
I'm frequently a lot like your recalcitrant student--always thinking of where I'd rather be. (In my case, if I put one of those bumper stickers on my car, it would probably say I'D RATHER BE WRITING). Thanks for the reminder to be where we are. Waiting tables. Raking leaves. Shopping in the grocery store in this time of incredible bounty. It's all good.
I used to work with kids like these too. Would have been useful to have a New England to take them out into. As it was, I had to make do with sometimes taking them into the countryside to a converted barn we lived in.
As usual, another great post, Scot. Keep this up and I'll start to demand that you post more often. 
Patry:
Good to see you check in. I think I'd like a bumper sticker like that, too.
Thank you for your thoughtful comment.
Scot
Clive:
Yes, sometimes the environment does work in your favor when working with kids who are "mad at the world." Although having a converted barn out in the country side sounds like a close second.
As always, I appreciate your thoughful response. Hopefully I'll be able to get myself up to a few more topics to write on before you start demanding I post more often.
Scot
As with the unique offering of pleasantness that's held within the twig of nature's Black Birch, your ability to guide ones toward balance is testimony of that same nature and hormony which governs it. Balance holds us upright for a truer view of this world. It is balance that helps us to turn our heads with curiosity and wonder in order to see our place among the many forms of life that surrounds us.
Thank you for giving me more to see.
Ooops! Forgot to include my homepage.
Neetee:
Thanks for stopping by. I appreciate your thoughtful comment, and for giving me perspective on "balance." I hadn't quite thought of it that way, per se, but you are so right. You have given me more to see as well.
Scot
I hear such good things about DBT and I didn't know that is what you were doing. It seems that I have been doing DBT with my grandson and didn't even realize it. I think we teach kids so many things, but I think it is really important to teach them how to deal with emotions and be happy. I work really hard with him on "doing his best" also. That the result isn't so important, you can always get an A or make the winning point, but if you do your best and enjoy what you are doing it is all good. I don't know, maybe other parents do teach these things, but mine didn't and I wish they had. Our thoughts are one of the few things in the world we truly have control of.
JC:
"Do your best and enjoy what your doing. . ." That would make a great motto for both parent and child. It was my son who, over the years, made me realize just how much I can control my thoughts and emotions. A few years ago when I started my present position, I trained for certification as a DBT skills instructor. When I was in graduate school, I studied classical rhetoric and became very familiar with dialectic. But dialectic is not just a process of understanding the relationship between thought and word, it also transpires into our daily lives. It is a process of understanding the relationship between thought and action--our rational and emotional mind--and finding the balance between the two.
It is good to have you come by. I appreciate the thoughfulness you bring in response to my writing.
Scot
Wonderful story. And a good lesson in the subtle psychology of changing attitude. I'm often stumped when dealing with the sullen attitude of a frinds 8 year old boy. You've given me some ideas.
When you described the boy throwing the rock into the woods, I alsmost expected you to start a game of "hit that target".
And, of course, we call all use those techniques to get ourselves out of grumpy moods, which, when done right, can open our eyes to the view we were missing all along.
Garnet:
Sometimes, especially with eight year olds, you have to be careful with games like, "Hit the target," least you become one yourself. I appreciate what you say in your last sentence. It gives meaning to what I have written. Thank you for checking in,
Scot
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