Serving Argyle, Bartonville, Canyon Falls, Copper Canyon, Double Oak, Flower Mound, Harvest, Highland Village, Lantana and Robson Ranch
October 2017
www.CrossTimbersGazette.com
Since 1979
Donations Help Kids Rock Away Their Blues By Lyn Rejahl Pry, Editor
“I make these rocking critters, which I donate to various children’s hospitals and battered women’s/children’s shelters, for the little kids who are going through a tough time,� said woodworker and Good Samaritan Michael Lively of Flower Mound. He started creating his wooden “therapy� rocking animals for children as a form of therapy for himself. “It started with me being out of work since June of last year,� said Lively. “I’ve been in sales and operations management in the beauty industry until then when the company I worked for moved its headquarters to California. My wife and I made the decision to stay here.� Although actively involved in the job search process (he still is), Lively needed something else-- something more tangible-- he could control and accomplish.
“My dad made these little rocking animals for my nephews, about 25- to 30years-ago, and I remembered them. I had all his patterns, so late last fall I started making these critters for kids who might feel better rocking on them.� The staff members at the Plano location of “City House,� a battered women’s/ children’s shelter, shared a positive result of the rocking animals being donated by “Rocking Away the Blues.� “While the children will certainly have fun with and enjoy the rocking animals, there is an even greater therapeutic benefit afforded by the ‘rhythmic motion’ facilitated while simply rocking,� Lively repeated the staff’s insight they’d shared with him. He’d started his rocking animals-not only horses, but elephants, giraffes, See ROCKING on Page A19
Photo by Brian Maschino
Michael Lively of Flower Mound uses his free time to bring comfort to children in need.
Confessions of a Restless Mind
By Mark Smith, Digital Editor
PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID PERMIT #997 LEWISVILLE, TX
Leigh and Renee Macneil with their daughters Gianna, 9, and Talia, 5, after they received the first shipment of their new book, “Spaz,� which chronicles stories from Leigh’s life with ADHD.
A Lantana couple is hoping to help people understand ADHD better after releasing their book about living with the disorder. Leigh Macneil, 44, grew up with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in a time when few people understood what the disorder was and how to treat it. “I was in classes with kids with Down Syndrome, because they didn’t know where to put me,� Macneil said. “I was asked not to return to class in the first grade. The problem was, people didn’t understand how I learned.� Macneil said he learns much faster by seeing or hearing something explained, not just reading it. “In math class, I had a hard time reading the textbook and then taking a quiz,� he said. “But as
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soon as I see it done in front of me in class, I know it. I would bomb that quiz before class, but I would be the first one to turn in a test later.� Similarly, nowadays Macneil reads books after listening to the audio book first. He finishes 30-40 books a year that way. “I couldn’t do that without understanding how I learn,� he said. See SPAZ on Page A9
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