6/9 - Taking Care Workshop: The Beautiful Mess - June 9th - 7pm-8:30pm

The Beautiful Mess: The Real Life of Caring for Children

An Expressive Writing Workshop

Sticky fingers. Sleepless nights. Unexpected laughter.
And everything in between.

Caring for children is full of tenderness, chaos, humor, exhaustion, love—and everything we rarely get time to name.

This expressive writing workshop creates space to pause, reflect, and put language to the real experience of caregiving: the beautiful, the messy, and the painful.

Open to anyone who cares for or works with children, this workshop offers guided writing prompts and supportive exercises designed to spark insight, release, and expression.

No writing experience needed—just curiosity and a willingness to show up as you are.

Facilitators

Melissa Pilkey, LMHC
Licensed Mental Health Counselor with 20+ years of experience specializing in women’s issues, trauma, and adolescents. She has developed and directed programs for teens and individuals affected by cancer.

Dr. Elaine Handley
Writer, educator, and believer in writing as a tool for growth and well-being. She has taught adolescents, incarcerated writers, veterans, seniors, and adult learners. Her poetry collection Heartbreak Grass (Kelsay Press, Summer 2026) is forthcoming.

Tuesday, June 9, 2026
7:00–8:30 pm

Play Hollow
40 Front Street, Ballston Spa, NY 12020

$30 per person