Who Did That? Foster Kids!
For Children’s Sake of Virginia (FCSVA) is a therapeutic foster care agency that works throughout Northern Virginia. One of the questions they get asked most frequently is ‘what are the kids in foster care like?’

FCSVA says that each child is individual, with their own challenges and strengths. FCSVA foster parents work to help each child build on their strengths and overcome their challenges, and they see that every day through their foster children’s successes. Read below to see just a few of their amazing accomplishments this year!

• One of our elementary-aged foster children won a Future Innovator award at a Boys & Girls Club field trip for his excellent vision board
• One of our middle school foster children became a track team manager
• One of our teen foster children’s basketball teams won championships
• One of our middle schoolers in foster care won ‘Shining Star of the Month’ in her gymnastics group
• One of our toddlers in foster care has become “a gentleman” and always opens doors for ladies
• One of our teens in foster care has started volunteering at a local nonprofit
• Two of our teen boys in foster care volunteered their time on a weekend and made over 400 lunches for homeless people in their community
• One of our teens is about to graduate high school and will attend NOVA in the fall
• One of our teens will be officially adopted this summer
• One of our teens in foster care brought almost all of his grades up to B’s
• One of our middle schoolers in foster care has already read more than 20 books this year
• One of our toddlers in foster care learned to write his name

The children in foster care are just like any others – they have their own aspirations and goals, and FCSVA and their foster parents are helping them get there! Some of the children in care’s goals include: “graduating from high school, getting into college, and going to Penn State.”

Another teen’s goal is to “go to Howard University and study ER nursing.” FCSVA shares that these goals are accomplished through dedicated children and parents who work with them every day to help them get there.

Do you think you have space in your heart to help a foster child reach their goals? Anyone older than 21 years old who is financially stable, has space in their home for a child, a vehicle to transport the child in, and love and patience in their heart are welcome to apply to become a foster parent.

FCSVA offers free training and approval to foster parents. This includes single parents, LGBTQ+ parents, adults who have not had children before, parents who rent an apartment, those with medical conditions, and more. Every child has a different need for their foster parents, and we work to count you in, not out, as a foster parent!

You can call (703) 817-9890 or visit online today to learn more!

A new Athlete of the Month has been selected for the Competitive Edge Athletic Performance Center. For June, the chosen athlete is Plamedi Nsingi.

Q: How old are you?

A: I am 14 years old.

Q: Do you have a job? What school do you go to or are planning on going to?

A: No; I attend Woodbridge Middle School, and I’ll attend Garfield High School in the future.

Q: How long have you been training at Competitive Edge?

A: I have been training at the EDGE for about 3 or 4 months.

Q: What makes Competitive Edge unique?

A: The coaches — they motivate me to be better.

Q: What is your favorite type of workout and why?

A: My favorite type of work-out is Vertimax — helps increase my explosiveness.

Q: What has been your greatest athletic success?

A: My greatest athletic success was being recognized by other AAU basketball teams.

Q: What has been the most difficult part of your journey to fitness?

A: The most difficult part of my journey has been trying to keep up with both school and athletics. Homework piles up but I know I have to work out to maintain my athleticism.

Q: How did you initially react when you learned that you were Athlete of the Month?

A: I was surprised. My dad told me the news. He said to me, “Competitive Edge chose you to be the Athlete of the Month, I don’t know why.”

Q: What does being the Competitive Edge Athlete of the Month mean to you?

A: It means a lot to me as it introduces me to the facilities athletic community and allows me to introduce myself to other basketball players at the Edge.

Q: What motivates you to get out of bed and workout each day?

A: I am motivated each day knowing that I’ll one day be somebody.

Q: What is the most beneficial part of being an athlete?

A: The most beneficial part is that I stay healthy and my rate of recovery is increased.

Q: How will you continue to maintain your fitness in college?

A: To maintain my fitness in high school, I plan to continue eating healthy and maintaining my fitness regimen.

Q: What are your goals in the next five years?

A: In the next five years, I foresee myself playing college basketball — I’d like to advance professionally and play for the NBA soon after. However, I also have hopes of being a lawyer.

Q: Is there anything else you would like to add?

A: Shout out to my AAU team, Team Impact!

Many men dealing with changes in urination, ejaculation and/or erections suffer in silence, but one urologist says it shouldn’t be that way.

Dr. Pratik Desai of Potomac Urology is a fellowship-trained urologist with Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center. He wants to change the misconceptions many people have about urologists.

“We treat multiple medical issues in people, from teenagers on. In our practice, we have several sub-specializations. The majority of my patients have prostate issues or they may have bladder or kidney cancer. We also have doctors who specialize in enlarged prostate, uro-gynecological or testosterone issues, sexual dysfunction and much more.”

Dr. Desai says urological health is part of a bigger picture in men’s health.

“The biggest question we get is, ‘When should I start getting checked and when should I come in?’ If there’s something that’s way out of line with your urination- blood in the urine, burning, frequency- those are times for a checkup. In young men, if they have decreased energy, decreased sexual desire, difficulty with sexual function- there may be some underlying issues that we want to look into.”

Prostate Cancer is one of the most common cancers in men with more than three-million cases reported each year. According to the American Cancer Society, several factors go into when you should begin prostate–specific antigen (PSA) testing to screen for the disease.

• Age 50: men who are at average risk
• Age 45: men who are high risk- African American men & men who have a 1^st degree relative with prostate cancer
• Age 40: men who at a higher risk- 1^st degree relative with prostate cancer at an earlier age*

(*as recommended by American Cancer Society)

“The earlier we evaluate things the more options we have. I tell patients a better understanding of problems in a non-acute setting always gives us the option to treat something, rather than waiting and getting to point where the aggressive option is the only option left,” explains Dr. Desai.

Dr. Desai says education and awareness are key. That’s why Potomac Urology is pleased to have partnered with ZERO for the ZERO Prostate Cancer Run/Walk on June 15. The team raised nearly $160,000 to end prostate cancer.

“Be proactive and involved in your health, whether it’s through screenings and care doctor visits, or there’s a concern and you want to see a specialist directly,” says Dr. Desai. “The most important thing is addressing these issues, which allow us to treat sooner rather than later.”

Take a look at this week’s Local’s Only Offer, a special deal for locals like you who are Potomac Local News paying subscribers.

It’s our way of saying thank you for supporting our efforts to cover local news in our community.

Show this unlocked post on your phone to redeem the Local’s Only Deal.

This week, bring your family and friends for a day of recreation at the Manassas Park Community Center!

Get one-day complimentary access for you and up to three friends to the

•Swimming pool

•Fitness rooms

•Basketball courts

•Group exercise classes

Show this email to redeem the Local’s Only Offer.

Offer limited to one redemption per person. Offer expires July 31, 2019.

Additional limitations may apply.

Please see a front desk representative for details.

Katherine Mercurio Gotthardt is a poetry and prose writer who has lived in Prince William County since 1999. She has published six books and is working on a seventh. Learn more about her at KatherineGotthardt.com, and follow her work on Facebook by searching #KatherinesCoffeehouse.

By Katherine Mercurio Gotthardt

There’s a Facebook meme out there that says something like, “For whoever needs to hear this…your laundry needs to be put in the dryer.”

This usually makes me laugh because I’m the last person who needs a reminder. You should see the pile in my family room right now.

That’s enough of a reminder for me. But I do often wonder what people need to hear and when. I know in my own life, I’ve run across an article or a song or a few words that were just what the doctor ordered—words that motivated or inspired me to keep going or to take action, words that helped keep me from feeling blah or numb to the beauty of life, in all its complexities.

The problem is, those words aren’t always around when we need them. The skies don’t always open up the way we’d like and lead us to the rainbow’s end.

I’m not trying to kill the myth of the leprechaun or anything, but if that pot of gold really was there for taking, don’t you think someone would have taken it already? Personally, I’d rather not wait to be hit on the head with the mallet of inspiration.

When I need inspiration, I am motivated to go after it or create it. And that motivates me even more.

Want in? Here are a few ideas to get your head where you want it to be. You don’t necessarily have to do them in public.

1. Sing the first song you ever learned as a child. I mean SING IT. Loudly. (It’s okay to slur through the words you’re not sure about.)
2. Look around you. Note five interesting or attractive objects. Describe them out loud.
3. Sniff the air. What do you smell? Acknowledge it. Out loud.
4. What’s by your right elbow? Touch it. How did it get there? Recite the whole process.
5. What does the inside of your mouth taste like right this moment? Why? Verbally explain it to yourself.

What I just suggested you do is an auditory exercise based on all the five senses: sound, sight, smell, touch, taste, with an emphasis on sound. Here’s why.

We are sensory creatures—except we forget that all the time.

We think we can live in our heads or on our computers. And while that’s true up to a point, if we don’t get back to our basic human components, those rooted in the senses, we lose touch with what it means to be human.

And there’s nothing that will kill motivation and inspiration more than that. Because no matter how much we might be loathed to admit it sometimes, we are indeed human, and humans connect and perceive through the senses.

Now that you understand the concept, focus on what you need to hear. Whether it’s through the car stereo or sounds you make yourself, feed your physical and metaphorical ears with the right stuff. Tired? Listen to something energetic.

Bored? Listen to a TED Talk.

Nervous? Shout out a short speech.

No matter what you choose, make sure it’s something positive, something that will support motivation and inspiration.

Nothing sings so loudly
as the song of self,
the one with the words I learned
before I was even born.
Do you hear what I hear?
I think that might be my mother.
She birthed me with her music,
her low hum caressing my heart,
pushing me gently into a physical world,
reverberating with possibility.
How wonderful it is
to be human.

Until next time,
Katherine

The Fauquier Bank will host a free dinner and financial planning workshop on Thursday, June 20.

The workshop will take place at the bank’s Centerville Road branch at 8780 Centerville Road in Manassas.

Pizza from Tony’s New York Pizza in Manassas will be served, and attendees will be able to ask questions about saving for retirement, college, investments, private banking, estates and trusts, and more.

The workshop with dinner will begin at 6:30 p.m. and last until 8 p.m.

Those who want to attend the free workshop are asked to RSVP by calling 540-349-0202.

Katherine Mercurio Gotthardt is a poetry and prose writer who has lived in Prince William County since 1999. She has published six books and is working on a seventh. Learn more about her at KatherineGotthardt.com, and follow her work on Facebook by searching #KatherinesCoffeehouse.

By Katherine Mercurio Gotthardt

That’s what I tell myself when I want to procrastinate (which is too often). Quit messing around. Well, sometimes I use stronger language, but this is a family publication. It’s enough for you to know I give myself a stern talking-to, and then I sit down, and I do the hard work.

See, like most people, I can’t afford to wait until inspiration and motivation waft in like some fabled specter. This isn’t a Charles Dickens novel. Messenger ghosts and visions of dead bosses don’t suddenly appear, tap me on the shoulder and say, “Write, oh bard! Write!” No. Like everyone, I’ve got deadlines. And sometimes, I’ve got deadlines to write about inspiration and motivation when I have neither. But here’s one thing I’ve discovered about those two elements that make life so worth living: Doing something and doing it well inspires and motivates me.

That’s right. The work itself motivates me, no matter what the work.

Here’s how to make that happen for yourself:

1.   Close your eyes. Remember how good it felt to complete a difficult project in the past.

Let that feeling seep into your skin. Revel in it.

2.   Open your eyes. Make a list of things you need to do to complete the task.

3.   Work in 20 or 30-minute increments and start crossing items off that list.

4.   Every time you cross something off the list, put a smiley face next to it, pat yourself on the back or tell your dog, “I did it!”

5.   Repeat until the job is done.

Now here’s why it works.

First, whenever you connect the senses to something abstract, it becomes less abstract. So when you allow a good feeling to overtake your whole body and you associate it with a memory, you ingrain that into your psyche and you want more of it.  

Then there’s writing down your list. This is basically a short-term goal setting, cementing each small goal kinesthetically by holding pen to paper and forming words. You can meet those goals if you know you aren’t going to get overwhelmed. Short bursts of work are usually doable, which is why 20 or 30-minute sessions work.

Move yourself through a few of those and reward yourself with a “Great job!” By the time you get through the process, you’re ready to go back to the first step and integrate that wonderful feeling, which…yes—gives you the motivation and inspiration to keep going. Before long, you’re working in longer spurts because crossing tasks off that list is so damn satisfying. And sometimes by then, you’re even enjoying the work itself.

This might seem like a pretty basic process, but it’s one that has worked for me for decades. Turns out, the process is pretty solidly based in education and psychology, too. And it can be applied to just about anything, making you more productive and feeling better about the work you’ve been putting off.

Now to be transparent, I wasn’t planning to share my trade secret when I sat down to write this column. It just kind of happened, and I don’t regret it. I started off struggling, I went through the process, I got inspired and poof. Seemed like the right thing to do, so I did it. And it feels good. So I’ll probably knock out next week’s column, too. But first, a short poem.

Some days

I wish for a specter,

the ghost of Christmas past, perhaps,

to remind me of better mornings.

See how he carries me in from the cold,

sets me softly down,

points to the gift?

Look at that red ribbon.

How will I untie it,

when all I can think of

is dreaming?

Enough, he tells me.

Wake up!

Run your fingers

across the shiny surface.

        Inhale the care

        it took to create.

Absorb the effort

it required to wrap

a masterpiece.

Understand it was for you!

Place the bow’s end

between finger and thumb.

Hold fast, now.

You’re almost there.

Until next time,

Katherine

Katherine Mercurio Gotthardt is a poetry and prose writer who has lived in Prince William County since 1999. She has published six books and is working on a seventh. Learn more about her at KatherineGotthardt.com, and follow her work on Facebook by searching #KatherinesCoffeehouse.

By Katherine Mercurio Gotthardt

Snooze is a funny word. Say it out loud. Look at it. Who came up with such a strange word for lightly sleeping?

Dictionaries say unknown origin, may be related to the sound of “snore.” Snooze, snore—is that how you’re getting through life?

I’m not one to judge. I often snooze on the couch, even for a few moments. I don’t sleep as well as I used to. Everything hurts. Everything itches. Everything is just not right. Ever feel that way about life, that everything is an annoying itch or just plain painful?

I think it’s normal from time to time. OK. Set the timer. Take a nap.

Ugh. Did it go off already?

That means I have to get back to work.

Quick. Hit the snooze button again.

Is this how you’re living your life, physically or metaphorically? If so, you know already what it can do to your inspiration and motivation. Sure, sleep is essential if you want to be able to tune in to the gods or the muse or the birds or whatever speaks to you.

And truth be told, what gets you out of bed might be something like the kids fighting or the dog whining. Or maybe you sleep well but wake up tired and say, “Bloody hell! I’m late…again!”

Oh, the agony of waking up sometimes. It’s no wonder you keep hitting the snooze button. But that’s actually really bad for your brain, say the experts. You think you’re getting extra sleep, but you’re not. There’s not enough time between alarms for you to slip into REM and stay there.

You’re just wasting time. And you’re probably making yourself late, stressing yourself out as a result. Or the kids are going to start strangling each other or the dog is about to pee on the floor. Better to motivate yourself to get up and live your best day.

Here’s what you can do instead of hitting the snooze button. Try it, even if it’s just for ten seconds:

1.   Open your eyes and stare at something. Anything. Reorient yourself to the real world.
2.   Think of what you need to do, the thing you’re dreading, the thing you’re avoiding. (It could be something as simple as getting in the shower.)
3.   Now think of your higher purpose. That’s right. Make that leap and do it fast.
4.   What? Don’t believe you have a higher purpose? Don’t know what it is? Well, then you’ve got some work to do. Ask yourself why you don’t believe or don’t know.
5.   By this time, you’re either A, in an existential quandary, in which case your mind is far more alert or B, motivated enough to jump or roll out of bed. Either way, you’re in better shape for getting up.

See? Instead of snoozing, you fed yourself a quick breakfast of motivation and inspiration. And that will be reflected in the work you do and how you do it.

Remember, hitting snooze is just a crappy coping mechanism. No one really wants to go through life every day, longing to get back to bed. While sleep is necessary, and good sleep feels good, sleep isn’t the higher purpose, the thing itself. So don’t keep hitting snooze.

Funny how flat the button,

so easy to lay a finger on,

and with the lightest touch,

lose moments of our lives.

What if we never hit snooze?

Good morning.

Until next time,

Katherine