Single Mom Gig - A Little Civility

I attended a really phenomenal training last week. It was about so many things, including civility. The teacher, an administrator from Weber State University, taught so many powerful insights.

She began the class by asking each of us to introduce ourselves in this way:
* State your name
* State your identity
* What pronoun(s) do you prefer?

I introduced myself in this way:
* My name is Heidi
* I am a single mom, a daughter, an auntie, a sister, a friend, a survivor, a yogi, and an ice cream lover
* I prefer she, her, hers, they, theirs, we, us

She spoke of the "one story" that each of us has in our minds of others and their situations. How often do we work so hard to be understood, rather than to understand?

She challenged us to a civility challenge. We each got a packet of 25 civility cards.

The boys and I will be working through these cards. We will be talking about the stories we have in our heads. We will be talking about our own identities and respecting the identities of others. We will speak of understanding, rather than fighting so hard to be understood.