Daisy May & Me: Inspiration and positive living

"I would rather walk with a friend in the dark, than alone in the light."

- Helen Keller

When I think about epic friendships in history, I think about Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan.

Many know the basic facts about their story, but some of the greatest aspects of their friendship are not as well known: the empathy, camaraderie, and service Helen and Anne shared.

Out of the many inspirational women I looked up in my search of women and finances, Madam C.J. Walker stood out among them. As the first American female self-made millionaire, how could she not? Madam Walker exhibited all of the traits that I wanted to learn about and now share with you all.

"Don't sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them."

                                        - Madam C.J. Walker

Annnd we're back!

Due to popular request, we're talking about gratitude this month, so what's a better book club pick than...

The Gratitude Diaries by Janice Kaplan

Janice Kaplan is a journalist and former Editor-in-Chief of Parade magazine. One New Year's Eve she had the desire to show more gratitude in her life for a whole year, and this book details her experiences and extensive research on gratitude in all aspects of life. She's a great writer, guys! It's very fun and insightful to read.

⏱: 305 pages (8 hours & 12 minutes for the audiobook - read by the author)

📖: Unlike our previous picks, this book is more of an adult read; however, this book has so many applications for families. We're excited to talk with you about all of the different things we can implement in our families and relationships.

Ready for your family book club meeting? This is the post for you! 

Sometimes, we are bad listeners. 

I think it's a skill we've lost a little because we are so busy all the time and we have the ability to be constantly distracted. 

But I'm sure we can all think of at least one person in our lives that is a good listener. 

What is it about them that makes them a good listener, do you think? Do they do anything special? 

Are YOU a good listener? 

Are you born a good or bad listener? Or is it something you become? 

We're talking all about listening on the blog today, but I have some questions for you over in our stories too so head on over there!

Tag a friend that's a good listener and tell me what makes them a good listener. I'd love to hear! 

Talking about mental health with kids can feel daunting. 

Sometimes we don't know what to say, or maybe we don't even fully understand, or know what to talk about, or how to bring it up, or maybe we will say all the wrong things.

Well, we've got a list of picture books up on the blog to help you talk to kids about various mental health issues and mental wellbeing too. 

Kids are so visual and this gives them a tangible way to learn more about depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, peer pressure, etc., in an inviting way. 

We're so lucky that there are incredible people in the world that are tackling hard subjects so that we can better understand and help our kids to understand too. 

These and other books will be a great opportunity to have very intentional discussions with our families about mental health and wellness.

What books have you read with your kids about mental health? We'd love to hear your suggestions! Leave a comment :)

This month, we're talking about something that only recently has been taken more seriously.

Mental health. 

We have the perfect book club pick that focuses on mental health awareness and our relationship with our mental health. 

The Science of Breakable Things by Tae Keller

Natalie is a seventh grade, quarter-Korean girl whose mom is struggling with depression. We'll follow along as Natalie works through an interesting science project, her feelings about what's happening in her family, and the internal battle she faces with how much to share and how to make things okay again. 

I read the majority of the book within two days, so that should tell you something!

It's 292 pages and the audiobook is 5 hours and 12 minutes.

Reading level is grades 3-7 (ages 8-12). This one can be read to younger kids, but some things may need extra explanation. 

This book really is an incredible illustration of mental health and it's perfect fit for a family book club. I think you'll have a pretty amazing discussion with this one. 

Anger is inevitable. 

We are going to have confrontations, hurt feelings, misunderstandings, miscommunications, fighting, etc. throughout our lives, especially in our families.

It stinks, right? No one wants to be angry. But it's part of life and it really is inevitable. 

We cannot stop ourselves from getting angry.

You didn't read that wrong. We can't stop ourselves from experiencing anger. However, we can control how we handle and react to anger, which is different from the actual emotion. 

On the blog, we're talking about two people that have made careers out of helping children and their parents to understand emotions and how to be in control of our reactions to them. One of them is pretty famous, but I wonder how many of you know about the woman that heavily impacted his career?

We'll talk about these two phenomenal individuals, as well as some tips, tricks, and exercises for cooling anger rather than fueling the fire. 

Is this something you struggle with? How do you help your kids to understand their emotions?