One of the many responsibilities I feel as a mother is to teach my daughter how to develop a social conscience. In a modern world where it’s so easy to get lost in one’s own personal pains and pleasures, I want Caitlin to at least be conscious that there’s a whole big world out there that, in fact, doesn’t revolve around her.
I look at the task as akin to Galileo trying to convince the Catholic Church that the sun … Read More
As I open the back door to let Graidy (my Border Collie mix) in out of the rain, I fail to notice that Finnegan (our Maine Coon cat) has snuck up behind me. As Graidy comes scooting in, Finnegan goes shooting out.
After a few choice words (why does this only happen when the weather is crummy, and my shoes are nowhere to be found), I dash outside in stocking feet with no coat. I call Kiera (my Australian Shepherd) … Read More
I love to hike in the woods. Before Cait was born, Kiera-1 and I’d take off and be gone the whole day– I’d pack a lunch, bring a book to read, carry some water, and we’d be set — just her and me in the middle of nature. There was nothing I loved more.
The first time I tried to take Cait hiking with me, she was just four. It was an abysmal failure. I’d made the mistake of forcing … Read More
From the mail bag: K.W. asks: What do you say when someone has asked you to read something they’ve written, and it really stinks? I don’t want to hurt my friend’s feelings, because I know she spent a lot of time on it. She thinks the story she’s written is ready to be sent off to a publisher. I think it’s ready to be sent to the circular file. Help! I’m sure you must get this a lot.
As a … Read More
There are two times in life when we count by halves. One is when we’re under the age of ten, and we’re half way between one birthday and the next. We’re still young enough for it to feel as though a year stretches on forever. So making it a whole six months more is worthy of being marked and counted. “I’m six and a half!” says my friend’s daughter with great pride. I’m excited for my friend’s daughter, because I … Read More
Long ago, I discovered that writing was a way for me to harness, focus, and direct my active imagination. It started out as a way for me to keep myself from worrying about things I couldn’t change. It’s progressed into a form of meditation; a daily practice of contemplation, which is nothing more than the effort to bring the mind to observe the outer physical world and the inner reality of thoughts and emotions.
Another way of expressing this idea … Read More
After a day of play with Graidy, and her evening run, Kiera’s contentedly conked out for the night.… Read More
Cait says from the backseat of the car, “Mom, there’s a tick on your shirt.”
Just having gotten into the car after a family hike through the woods, I get back out, find the tick (it’s a deer tick of course), and pick it off. Climbing back into the car, I say to Andrew, “Can’t blame that tick on the dogs.”
Andrew, who’s just contracted Lyme disease again from a tick he believes he picked up from one of the … Read More
