Synchronicites: Smile!, and White Wolf. Oh, and Owls.

I wrote this on my Facebook page last night:

We need to be aware of what we say to children, and to students. Telling a child to "smile!" is usually a well meaning thing to say, but think about it. We have no idea what a child has been through the night before, or that morning on his or her way to school. Maybe they slept in a homeless shelter. Or outside. Maybe their home life is chaotic, maybe they didn't have enough to eat, and so on. Insisting they "smile" is just one more lame thing another adult who is clueless tells them. Instead of expecting children to "smile" let's give them our support in other ways. I won't insist a child "smile" but I will smile at them. I will let them know I am glad to see them, glad they are here and let them know I will do my best to keep them safe while they are in my care. I don't care if they smile or not, but I will let them know I appreciate them. I will let them know I listen to them. But I will not tell them to "smile." 

Ubiquitous yellow faces of enforced gaiety 

Later that evening, I was watching Forever. Not a great show but something about it keeps me watching, since I'm easy when it comes to supernatural content. Last night's episode had a Jack the Ripper theme --always worth following -- as well as a comic book theme. The name of the comic book in the show was Soul Slasher. Big camera zoom in on a page; lots of gore and horror and Soul Slasher and the words "Smile!" I thought that was an interesting juxtaposition to what I wrote about concerning adults demanding that children smile. Well meaning, usually, but behind that is a "soul slasher" effect.

Forever, mild mannered TV mystery starring Dr. Cute

I'm always receptive to white wolf, that image living within my dream head for many years. A picture of a white wolf was on the wall in the doctor's office today, and later, a friend of mine posted on FB her "animal totem" which was a white wolf. Nothing better to do on a rainy day, home with an ear infection, I took the "What is Your Animal Totem" quiz, expecting to get White Wolf as well. Nope. I got… yes, OWL. Uh oh. We know what that means!

The owls. The owls! . . .