How I went from ‘I need to drive Uber Eats’ to ‘Ricky Gervais liked my first ever Tweet!’ (and back again. . . ) I had just learned that a song from one of my albums was being used on a bigtime Netflix show. Apparently, someone on the music production team for Ricky Gervais’ sensation “After Life” had placed it in the Season 3 Finale. Was I ever excited! I
June 2020: Margaret Dahlberg has reworked the show to suit the current Covid-19 climate: one woman (Margaret Dahlberg) available for backyard performances for socially distanced audiences “Book Club” version includes questions for panel discussion following the 55 minute show May be performed online via Facebook or Zoom plexiglass screen between the singer and the audience adheres to current Alberta guidelines for outdoor gatherings: https://www.alberta.ca/restrictions-on-gatherings.aspx small space required for set: 2
Many of us work hard to say the ‘right’ things to our loved ones, especially our children. Often however, our deeper feelings come out in the tone of voice we use or our facial expressions. This creates a problem for the receiver of our message: what is being said does not align with the emotions being communicated. This misalignment creates potential for miscommunication. It doesn’t matter how young your children
. . . or: “When you read this then you may have some new parenting ideas!” Does anyone else feel like parenting is an ongoing experience of what I imagine herding cats would feel like? I’ve been at it for 17 years now and it hasn’t really gotten any easier. I feel as though I have spent most of my time as a parent trying to convince my kids to
A few years back I read a popular book called “The Red Tent” by Anita Diamant. It was an historical novel written about biblical times, specifically Dinah, the daughter of Jacob and brother of Joseph. It was an entertaining read that I highly recommend. What was particularly compelling for me was the concept of the ‘red tent’. It was where women would go when they were menstruating. They would be
Most parents experience the anguish that comes with watching their child harm another little one. This is especially challenging as it can be an emotionally charged issue for any adults in attendance, let alone the child in harm’s way. Yet for the child who is demonstrating the aggression, it is most likely not charged with the emotion one would expect. As a matter of fact, “aggression” is defined as “hostile
There are few more challenging moments for parents than a young child’s upset. One can never be perfectly ready for every little bump in the road their child experiences. There are so many sources of upset throughout the day. Sometimes they are physically hurt, other times they are distressed over a broken or lost toy, at times their upset comes from transitioning from one activity to another, or giving up
“Love:” had it’s maiden run at the Fringe Festival in Calgary Alberta this past summer. Restaged to fit into a dramatic setting, the 3 woman show moved between modern narrator (Carrie Kalmykov) and an old-school piano bar setting (Lauren Woods, vocals; Margaret Dahlberg, piano) The 55 minute show was awarded “Best of Fest”. The story follows the trials of a middle aged woman who is searching for ‘the one’ and
Remorse: ‘Say you’re sorry’ isn’t enough: Seeing your child cause tears in another is a difficult moment. Often a caregiver’s immediate reflex is to quickly command “Say you’re sorry!” However, there is far more opportunity to teach children to ‘clean up’ their emotional impact on others when navigated appropriately. Why not jump to ‘sorry’? Remorse is an unrealistic expectation from the under developed brain. Still by introducing the consequences of ones
I have a distinct memory of stepping into an elevator once to be greeted by an adorable toddler in a stroller with her parents. Her big beautiful smile filled my heart with warmth and I found myself smiling back and saying “Hello!” Our wonderful connective moment was suddenly disrupted by her mother who said “Can you say hi to the lady?”. The question was greeted by an awkward silence and
