Whenever I come home to visit my parents, Mom wants me to help her unload the stuff she’s managed to collect in the 37 years they’ve lived in their house--stuff that she “may need one day.” Last Christmas, we tackled her five closets of clothes. It was a cacophony of “timeless pieces” that Mom couldn’t part with; most items Mom would defend by saying, “But I never even wore … [Read more...] about A Treasure Box of Memories and Chicken Bones
Search Results for: litter box
Are They Kids or Piglets?
I grew up in a chaotically messy home, with a busy mom who disdained cleaning AND cleaning women. Our cat’s litter box was changed approximately every three years. If the screen door ripped, it stayed ripped. Half the food in the fridge was covered in green and white fuzzy mold. My little corner room was my oasis. You could eat off the polished wood floor. My … [Read more...] about Are They Kids or Piglets?
Why Your Kid Needs A Summer Job
When I was in college, I spent two long, hot summers wrangling teenagers at a 350-acre organic farm in Pennsylvania. The camp focused not on swim tests or tie-dye, but instead the goal was developing kids’ leadership and communication skills. Like most sleepaway camps, this camp drew children largely from cities, kids whose families could afford the sleepaway privilege, as … [Read more...] about Why Your Kid Needs A Summer Job
The Truth About Dog and Cat Mouths
There is a strangely widespread and common myth about pet mouths that needs debunking, for your own good. Dog and cat mouths are NOT sterile. Of course not! I had a patient from around here last weekend, an adorable, fluffy, cute, clean Norfolk terrier pup who had been vomiting all night. He was young and so likely had what vets fondly call “dietary indiscretion,” i.e. ate … [Read more...] about The Truth About Dog and Cat Mouths
A Mom’s Mind At Work
I’m a mom. I’m a wife. I work full time…and like everyone, I have an awful lot on my mind all the time. It is really easy to get bitter and feel overwhelmed because I feel I am spread way too thin. Most days I feel like a chicken with my head cut off. It’s hard to explain all the things that I am thinking about at any given moment. My racing mind is a maze of thoughts, worries, … [Read more...] about A Mom’s Mind At Work