• Guided • Sometimes we randomly find ourselves in the perfect moment. Today, we ended up in a park with a gentle older man in a wheelchair flying a rainbow kite in a huge expanse of grass and sky. As we said hello he proceeded to fly the rainbow tail over our heads, in and out of Shaye’s hands. Then he busted out a blue whale kite so Shaye could play with the rainbow one. 💖

Something about his project, sitting in the sun solo flying rainbow kites, felt like the perfect magical stranger moment we were meant to find. Especially in light of someone being shot in this park in a drive by recently, his mellow kite act felt like a radical stance for kindness, a restorative and healing one. Thanks kite dude. Oh yea, and the peppy little dog running in circles named ‘Mary Poppins’. 🙏🏼

Sometimes we are guided. Despite and in cahoots with all odds, beauty finds us. And so often not when we are planning or living the ‘best’ moments. Instead, we are found in the most ordinary moments by IT, by the mystic thread, by the rainbow kite trail. When good enough is better than anything I could have come up with, it makes me grateful for the little things, and every precious moment I’m given
✨🌈✨

Giving Thanks,
Mama Emily

So grateful to all the youth who joined us for our Summer Retreat! What a powerful way to spend a weekend. You are all our teachers! Here is what the girls wrote to future girls considering becoming a Real Talk Teen...

"You're never going to find a space or an energy like the space Emily and Quetzal create. Do it, I promise you'll love it."

"Do it! Trying doesn't hurt but if you don't, you're missing out! Changed my life!"

"If you're not sure about joining a group or coming to a retreat, just go for it. You'll find people who can retreat to you and connect with you, and it will be worth it!"

"I liked going to this retreat and being part of this because it gives you a separate group that you can open up to. Also because you don't see these people every day it means that you can open up to them about your life and they can give you advice from an outsiders perspective."

"I liked this retreat because I could feel comfortable with opening up and others could easily say anything they wanted to."

"Please do this! You will not regret it! It leaves you with so much life experience."

"To anyone who wants to do this... DO IT!!! It's amazing and you'll love it!"

• CHOICE •
Let’s pretend this was the day, just this. This adorable, this innocent, this spontaneous, this easy.

Forget about being up since 5am. Forget about skipping your shower and meal. Forget about the list of things that seriously need to get done. Forget about coherent conversations. Forget about the total melt down car ride or that your breastfeeding baby bit your nip so hard you bled. Just, forget about it.

NBC News recently featured a research based article discussing how fewer teens are having sex or doing drugs, but more are reporting depression. We found this article to match our experience with teens, and wanted to share it with you.

By offering a safe space for honest conversations about these topics, we get the inside scoop on teens experimentation. However, we can confidently and sadly agree that, regardless of their varying sexual or elicit activity, almost all the teens we know are dealing with some level of anxiety and depression.  Included here are a few key points from the article, and interesting visual reports.

Read the full article here...

"Fewer high school students are having sex than ever before, federal health officials reported Thursday. And they’re also less likely than some earlier generations to abuse drugs...

But kids report that bullying at school is common and a third of students report persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness, the report finds. One in 10 girls and one out of 28 boys report they’ve been forced to have sex...

“Today’s youth are making better decisions about their health than just a decade ago, but, some experiences, such as physical and sexual violence, are outside their control and continue at painfully high levels. Their experiences today have powerful implications for their lives tomorrow.”

Full article...