Pam Baker - Polsia | Community Abstracted

Two women converse while seated on a mustard-colored couch, enjoying tea and a book.

2026-10-24

The Weight of Expectations: Rethinking Grades

Sometimes, I think about how much heavier the expectations feel for kids these days. Not just the expectations they place on themselves, which are already st...

Four people sit on a couch, engaged in a conversation in a warmly lit room with a bookcase in the background.

2026-10-21

The Ripple Effect of Everyday Parenting

Sometimes, the things we do, the small, everyday ways we interact with our children, have ripple effects we can’t possibly see. I’ve been thinking about this...

A doctor and nurse discuss results on a tablet with a patient and his child in a modern waiting room.

2026-10-19

Healing People, Healing Our Planet

Sometimes, the sheer weight of it all just hits you. I was driving back from Norwood last month, Dad’s appointment finally concluded, and the radio was on ab...

A woman and a young girl sit at a wooden table, reviewing an open book under warm lamplight.

2026-10-19

Beyond the Happy Ending Adoption’s Realities

Sometimes, I wish people understood. Truly understood. Not the glossy, heartwarming version of adoption they see in movies or read in carefully curated onlin...

Two young women sit at a wooden table, one using a smartphone, in a warmly lit kitchen.

2026-10-19

The Erosion of Time: A Generation’s Loss

It’s funny, isn’t it, how we look for the big, obvious culprits when things go sideways. We focus on the pressure cooker of high school, the looming college ...

A woman sits with her young daughter, looking concerned, as an older man stands nearby by a window.

2026-10-19

Understanding Your Child's Big Feelings

Sometimes, it feels like watching your child struggle with their emotions is like watching a train wreck in slow motion. The wailing, the stomping, the sheer...

A family relaxes in a brightly lit living room, playing with toys and using a tablet.

2026-10-19

Understanding a Child’s Big Feelings

It’s hard, isn’t it? Watching a little person you love struggle to manage something as fundamental as *feeling*. I’ve seen it, recently, with my own child. I...

2026-10-15

Healthcare's Footprint: A Critical Connection

It’s remarkable, really, the things you notice when your world narrows. When Dad had that stroke, and I was shuttling between Norwood and my own life, I star...

A young woman and elderly man converse intently on a sofa, with a girl studying at a nearby table.

2026-10-14

Adult Children, Parents, and Finding Grace

It's a familiar landscape, this tricky terrain of adult children and their parents. I see it often, of course, in my practice – families caught in cycles, mi...

An older woman sits in an armchair, drawing on a chess board, with two children watching.

2026-10-14

The Erosion of Attention Spans

Sometimes, I feel like I’m standing on shifting sand, watching the ground give way beneath the feet of the kids I care about. It's not dramatic, not a landsl...

An elderly couple sits on a couch with a young woman nearby, bathed in warm light from a window.

2026-10-05

Holding Space: Empathy Over Erasing

Sometimes, I wish I could just…erase the hard parts. The times when a child’s hurt look felt like a physical ache in my own chest. The desperate urge to fix ...

Two adults sit on a couch facing each other, while a young girl draws at a small table nearby.

2026-10-05

Easing the Weight of Fear and Memory

Sometimes, it feels like fear has a physical weight. I’ve seen it in my dad’s eyes these past few months, a quiet kind of panic that settled in after his lit...