Cait and Me Archives - Page 10 of 16

Perspective

January 13, 2008 / Cait and Me, Life / By Karen Shanley / 13 Comments

There’s another snowstorm blowing in. It got me to thinking about how one’s perspective can change over time…

Before I became a mom, my idea of winter splendor was this. Pristine, untouched snow. No footprints. No snow shaken from branches on which it gently rests. No sign of humans anywhere.

Monochromatic stillness.

Since I’ve been a mom, my idea of winter bliss has changed. Colorful splashes of coats. Rosy red cheeks. Footprints everywhere. Long channels of compressed snow rolled for … Read More

Nurse Kiera

January 2, 2008 / Cait and Me, My Dogs and Me / By Karen Shanley / 12 Comments

Cait has a touch of the flu. And there’s only one way to get her to rest.

Kiera has to just about physically lie on top of her. And then stay with her until she falls asleep. Nurse Kiera is always up for the job.

This time, Kiera stayed with Cait for the entirety of her four hour nap. When Cait woke, her fever had broken, and the worst of the symptoms were behind her.

There is no stronger medicine … Read More

The Other 99.9%

December 6, 2007 / Cait and Me, Life / By Karen Shanley / 19 Comments

Cait is studying US History and Current Events in one of her classes. She came home bemoaning how the world just seems to be getting crazier and crazier. I couldn’t disagree.

She asked, “Mom, do you think there are more bad people today than when you were growing up?”

I grew up during the Cold War, when the threat of the Soviet Union and the US lobbing nuclear missiles at each other was ever-looming. So, while this terrorist stuff is … Read More

An Evening Walk

December 1, 2007 / Cait and Me, My Dogs and Me, Nature / By Karen Shanley / 13 Comments

Sometimes the day races by before I get a chance to get outside. Kiera doesn’t care what time of day it is, she just wants to make sure that, at some point, we get in our three mile walk. You see, Kiera has taken it upon herself to act as my personal fitness trainer. She doesn’t care whether I want to go or not — in her mind, not going is not an option. In the past eight years, we’ve … Read More

Of Brick Walls and Petty Tyrants

November 7, 2007 / Cait and Me, My Favorites / By Karen Shanley / 44 Comments

Cait came home complaining yet again about one of her teachers. Being familiar with this teacher, I knew that her complaint was more than legitimate. The rant started as soon as she walked in the door from the school bus.

She launched in, “Mom, she’s incoherent when she’s giving directions. Nobody understands her!”

I didn’t even have to ask who she was talking about. Knowing the litany, I joined in on the next refrain, “She won’t even answer questions when … Read More

The Call

November 2, 2007 / Cait and Me / By Karen Shanley / 13 Comments

I remember how, as soon as the phone rang, as soon as I heard my brother’s voice, I knew my father had had a heart attack. Don’t ask me how I knew (because the call was in the middle of the day), but I knew. I woke my then 2 year old daughter from her nap, threw her in the car and started the race to my parents’ house.

And I knew when I got the call in the car … Read More

The Morning Bus Stop

October 25, 2007 / Cait and Me / By Karen Shanley / 15 Comments

For those of you who don’t have kids in middle school or high school yet, and are wondering why we need Daylight Savings Time — this is the reason. This picture was taken with a flash. Without, you’d see nothing but pitch black.

Which is why I wait with Cait with a flashlight until I see the lights of the bus coming around the bend. She’s not afraid of the dark. It’s what’s in the dark… It’s the bats still … Read More

Respecting the Emotional Lives of Animals

October 24, 2007 / Cait and Me, Nature / By Karen Shanley / 3 Comments

Whales-online.org offers this podcast with Marc Bekoff, Professor Emeritus of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado and Fellow of the Animal Behavior Society. The interviewer and Marc discuss his new book Animals Matter: A Biologist Explains Why We Should Treat Animals with Compassion and Respect. Marc’s book considers the full spectrum of topics relating to animals in the human world including animal sentience and animal emotions.

From the Whales-online.org site: “Marc explains that the difference between … Read More