120120 — Blog — Rulerless

Assume there is a reason

Toddlers are fairly uncomplicated.

When I approached my toddler nephew one morning to greet him, he looked up at me and became distressed. His mom had just left the room, and clearly, he had been expecting her instead. I didn’t take his disappointment personally; when my sister returned, the little boy smiled and pointed at me and said my name (well, his version of it). All was well.

Casey von NeumannNovember 5, 2020120120, 121620, 010621, 012721, 110221Comment

Remembering when we could go places and do things together

I keep thinking back to a perfect day last October.

I woke up in a boutique hotel room just off of Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C. after having spent a lovely weekend with my family (including my littlest nephew). The city was a bit on edge because the Astros had taken the lead over the Nationals the night before in Game 5 of the World Series, which I had watched in between bites of cake and ice cream the night before in a common area of the hotel (along with getting a little work done).

Casey von NeumannSeptember 17, 2020110320, 112020, 120120, 020921, 040921, 062121, 080422Comment

It's okay if you can't

There’s a lot going on right now. Many of us have experienced dramatic changes to our lifestyle and livelihood.

Any one of these changes would be a lot to get used to and would require a period of adjustment, and they’re all hitting at once.

On top of that, many of us are sick. And people are dying. That’s reality.

Casey von NeumannMarch 25, 2020change, 070720, 071720, 072920, 082520, 102620, 120120, 101422 Comments

Don't fear feelings

It was the last day of school. It had been a bittersweet morning full of summer sunshine and goodbyes.

One of the last remaining students began to cry. “It’s over!” she wailed to her mother. “I don’t want it to be over!”

“It’s okay, honey,” her mom said. “You can have sleepovers with Emma and Sarah — you’ll see your friends! You’re going to camp! Remember how excited you were about that? And we’ll be back here again in just a couple of months!”

Casey von NeumannMay 29, 2019091820, 112020, 120120, 031921, 062119, 061322 Comments

What kids need in order to do their best work

“I want him to want to do the work for himself.”

I smiled wistfully when my student’s father said this.

“He’s eight,” I replied. “He wants to do the work to please you.”

And that is okay. That is as it should be. We would be in real trouble if the children of the world stopped caring about pleasing the adults they love. We need them to hang on as long as possible (which is until about age thirteen, when they find themselves increasingly interested in pleasing their peers).

Casey von NeumannApril 22, 2019110520, 120120, 081621Comment