I was born and raised in Ridgewood, Queens New York with my two older brothers and my parents. It was a simple life, but I was surrounded by a lot of good people. I remember being a shy kid in school, often quiet, and not likely to speak up even when I knew the answer. So many times when I felt sad or embarrassed, I would think to myself, “If only that person would say X, Y, or Z, don’t they know that I would feel better?” I believed that it was their goal to cheer me up, but I didn’t understand back then that what was obvious in my mind, was not as obvious in theirs. We can only think our own thoughts, after all, and with me keeping so many of them to myself, how would they know what I wanted or needed? In reality, the things that we need are often pretty simple. A kind gesture, a listening ear, or someone who knows how to make us look at a bad situation in a better, sometimes even funny, way.

I created the Tiny Professors™ to be those people. The ones who point out the things that seem obvious but aren’t. To allow us to seek out the simplest solutions instead of making everything so complicated.

To accept people as they are, and create our relationships based on that. Megan, Kayla, Sebastian and Noah, the Tiny Professors™, like most children, are simply present in each moment, a skill that adults lose as their obligations take over where simply “being” once ruled. If only we could be more mindful again, we could learn from the cues that already surround us – the actions, the instincts, the knowledge, the facial expressions, and sometimes even the words that were said out loud but not heard. There’s so much knowledge floating around in the space in between us, if we would only bother to capture and use it.

Come join us as we learn to make the most of every situation. As we learn to find peace and forgiveness for ourselves for the things that we want to do, but can’t. And to pay attention to one another so that we know more than simply what the other person needs, but also what the other person has to offer.

Dementia is not an easy road. I will never say that it is, but let me help you break it down into its tiniest, most manageable pieces so that we can that we can find the peace, love, understanding and collaboration that we all need on this difficult journey.