Meet the Mermaids: Hi, I'm Jenny (Tales of the Five Enchanted Mermaids)

Meet The Mermaids: Hi, I'm Jenny is a beautiful, colorful book part of the series Tales of the Five Enchanted Mermaids, written by Lois Petren, that touches on the theme of self-confidence. Jenny is an Asian mermaid who loves to sing and is confident about herself. She explains throughout meaningful, simple language how she sometimes hasn't felt too confident, sharing ways of how to work on getting her confidence back. This book also approaches, in a simple way, how we all can have those little voices in our heads that could set back our confidence but she shares positive ways to boost our confidence and get it back, like positive self-talking, talking to a trusted adult, or being grateful.

As a mental health therapist who works with a lot of children who might struggle, at times, with their own confidence, I loved how this book approaches the confidence theme as something we all most have but we can struggle to keep it as well. The book teaches children that we all might hear these small voices in our heads but we can challenge them and change them to positive ones. This is a great book to help children understand the struggles we might find with maintaining our confidence and how we can boost it in case we need to.

Lois Petrem is the author of this book as well as the other four books that are part of the Tales of the Five Enchanted Mermaids series. She became an author when she realized she had a story to tell.

*This book was gifted to review as part of the Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2022 celebration/event (1/28/22).

Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2022 (1/28/22) is in its 9^th year! This non-profit children’s literacy initiative was founded by Valarie Budayr and Mia Wenjen; two diverse book-loving moms who saw a need to shine the spotlight on all of the multicultural books and authors on the market while also working to get those books into the hands of young readers and educators.

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Random Notes and more: My experience with suicide ideation... on the Suic...

Random Notes and more: My experience with suicide ideation... on the Suic...: It is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. A month where we try to be more conscious about what is suicide and how we can prevent it.  As par...

I am beautiful every day

 

I am thankful and grateful...

                    

for the smile, a stranger gave me unexpectedly

for the rain that wet my feet on my way to work yesterday

for the ray of sunshine that blinded my eyes when I was walking

for the singing of the bird that woke me up this morning when I wanted to sleep more 

for that difference in opinion, I had with my friend that made me appreciate her more

for the times my parents didn’t let me do what I wanted because it wasn’t good for me

for all those people that aren’t part of my life anymore because, from them, I have learned a lesson

for that bad experience I had because it helped me be a better person

for the day that isn’t going well because make me appreciate the good ones

for those moments I felt a failure because it helped me grow as a person

for the days I doubt myself a little because it made me believe in myself more

for the good news, I saw on TV because it gave me hope in humanity 

for those words my teacher told me when I thought I couldn’t make it 

for that moment I didn’t like myself because it made me appreciate myself more 

for that tear turned into a smile because made me believe in better days to come

for just opening my eyes this morning because I have one more day to live

                                                                                                  

                                                                                                                        -Tere Rodriguez-Nora,2017

My experience with suicide ideation... on the Suicide Prevention Awareness Month

It is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. A month where we try to be more conscious about what is suicide and how we can prevent it. As part of it, I am sharing my personal encounter with suicidal thoughts and ideation. It is the first time,ever, I’m expressing myself about it...

I lived an abusing relationship for a long time. It was a very difficult relationship where I experienced verbal and emotional abuse. At some point in it, suicidal thoughts came to my

mind.  These thoughts came particularly when I was driving back from visiting my son who was in college. When you drive to the north side of Puerto Rico from the west coast, there is a high mountain that you will drive through. From this mountain, you can see a cliff with an amazing view of lower mountains and ending with the view of the ocean.
Every time I drove through there, for almost 2 years, the same thoughts came to my mind "What if I drive to the cliff  and end my  sadness."  The cliff had a way of hypnotizing me and, in my head, was calling me.

Those thoughts circle in my mind every time I was driving back home from visiting my son. I even stopped near the cliff once. Wanted to see how deep it was and what could happen to me if I decided to drive/jump in my car.

After getting home from visiting my son, days will follow full of questions in my head. I had one question that constantly came to my mind "What if I changed my mind while I’m going down the cliff?" This is the question that kept me from doing it. I am very grateful to have had it! I am still alive, happy, and looking forward to many adventures!

Life can give us, sometimes, difficult situations hard to handle. These situations are just situations, not our life. They are experiences you lived. I have learned that the path of one’s life could be full of stones, small and bigger ones; but between those stones, there are flowers that will accompany you while you walk your life’s path. We should pay more attention to those flowers; they will help us walk through all the stones.

Take care, Tere

                                                                                    

 

                                                                           

Haiku poems cocktail (The evening)

Black sky full of stars
Give a sensation of peace
Enchanting darkness

Oranges turned red
Dancing colors through the sky
Ending graciously

Bright, majestic light
Guides and protects the night
Shines throughout the sky

Soft, warm evening breeze
Touches the salty waters
Calming the night sky

Round disk in the sky
Turning colors one at a time
Leaving for the day
                        -Tere Rodriguez-Nora

PAUSE... (COVID-19 reflection of life)

Pause, take a peek of all the amazing things around you 
Pause and listen to your heart beating
Pause, don’t let the daily routine consume you
Pause, appreciate a sincere smile
Pause to feel the breeze while walking in the morning 
Pause and stop taking people for granted
Pause to value what others do for you
Pause to dance while enjoying the music 
Pause to pay respect to the ones that make 
a difference every day
Pause, value and admire all the beauty 
we have around us
Pause and be grateful for everything you have
Pause to acknowledge the best in others
Pause so you can miss the good old days 
Pause so you can dream about the future
Pause to understand that there's more 
than being busy
Pause to spend an afternoon with your parents
Pause before you miss your children’s growth 
Pause so you can keep on dreaming 
Pause to let your creativity flow
Pause, hug that special someone
Pause and show your love to others
Pause to take a deep breath
Pause so you can continue living
                                       -Tere Rodriguez-Nora