I’ve always had a soft spot for kids. I suppose what I did not receive as a child, I took on as a mission for other young people. Much of my life has been devoted to children in some regard. I was a camp counselor, I babysat, my college degree is in elementary education and child psychology. When I taught, I taught the whole child, as interested in their social/emotional development as their academics. When kids came to school sad or out of sorts, I hugged them and gave them an opportunity to express themselves through words, drawing or play. I knew the curriculum could not compete with a dying pet or Mom and Dad fighting. I worked with Autistic kids in NYC before we really understood much about them and emotionally disturbed kids in Palo Alto, California.

I have two younger brothers that I cut my “mommy” teeth on, even though they had a Mom. And then I had my own children. Nothing prepared me for the total love and devotion I felt the second they entered my life. Our children, and the children of others, are the way we save our world (and maybe ourselves) one little person at a time. Children deserve our love and protection. I believe it is our earthly, and cosmic, responsibility, to do so.