Whenever the topic of potty training comes up (and it does when you hang out with other parents of young children), I joke that our dog toilet-trained my oldest son. And I say it only half in jest. One night when I was cooking dinner, my son – at age 2.5 – came in and announced, “I peed outside, just like Mazel[-dog].” … Continue reading
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A Day of Snowed-In Fun
This past week we had a lot of snow. In fact, there was so much snow that we got snowed in. My Sweetie graciously takes care of the snow blowing when he’s in town, but he was on the road during this storm.
While the boys and I were a bit disappointed to cancel a brunch-date with a dear friend, it felt nice for the weather to declare a day of rest on our behalf.… Continue reading
Welcome 2017!
I came across this New Year’s blessing from Neil Gaiman many years ago. I’ve always liked it. A year filled with magic, dreaming, good madness, fine books, kisses, personal passion, and a surprise sounds wonderful.
I add to this, may your year be full of love and kindness, to yourself, to those around you, and to all living beings.… Continue reading
Thought for the Day: Roald Dahl
Our thoughts define who we are. Let’s choose thoughts that are beautiful, kind, and full of love. And may those compassionate thoughts make all of us lovely.
“A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.”… Continue reading
Thought for the Day: John Lennon
This last week I’ve heard people say that this election proves that our country is falling apart. Others declare that finally our country can be saved.
Whatever your belief, and no matter who you voted for, I hope we can agree that we all need to treat each other with kindness and compassion. As humans, our similarities are far greater than our differences.… Continue reading
Teaching Compassion to and Learning Compassion from a Young Child
“Mama, wait!” my three-year-old called as we were leaving the park, “There’s a worm on the sidewalk and I must save him.” My son did his best to gently pick up the worm (it took three tries to get the worm securely onto his palm), then explained to it that worms need dirt to survive so he was going to relocate the worm to the nearby grassy area. … Continue reading
Thought for the Day: Mahatma Gandhi
Our thoughts lay the foundation for the rest of our lives. Knowing that, let us choose thoughts that will drive us toward the lives we want to live.
Think peace. Think simplicity. Think gentleness. Think brotherhood. Think sympathy. Think honesty. Think kindness. Think justice. Think understanding. Think benevolence. Think integrity. Think harmony. Think compassion. Think love.
“Let your thoughts be positive for they will become your words.… Continue reading
The Rationality of Irrationality: Listening to an Upset 3-year-old
My son got a splinter in the arch of his foot. It wasn’t very big, but it went deep under the surface of his skin. After lots of hugs and kisses, I gave him an ice pack to hold on his foot while I went to gather our splinter-removal supplies (sharp tweezers, some Thieves oil*, and an adhesive bandage). … Continue reading
A Circle of Caring
Last week was a tough week for us. I mourned the death of my mother-in-law (see HERE). A friend’s dog nipped my 3-year-old, who then needed an emergency tetanus shot. A wasp got under my son’s shirt and stung him 8 times before I managed to flush it out. I missed my husband while he was out of town (big things always feel more difficult when we’re apart). … Continue reading
A Long Goodbye: Death, Mourning, and Alzheimer’s
My Mother-in-Law died this past week after over a decade of struggling with Alzheimer’s Disease. We all miss her. A final goodbye is still difficult, even when we’ve seen it coming for a long time.
Watching her succumb to dementia over the years, I feel like we not only said this last goodbye, we’ve also said 100 little goodbyes along the way. … Continue reading