Or whatever decade you find yourself in.
“I blame my mother for my poor sex life. All she told me was: ‘The man goes on top and the woman underneath.’ For three years my husband and I slept in bunk beds.” — Joan Rivers
Sex in the sixties. I know there was lots then, but not for me. I was a toddler at the beginning of that decade.
Sex in my sixties. That’s what I’m talking about. It’s good. Not that my children want to know that. Who does want to think about their parents having sex? We tend to repress those thoughts. We know they do…
Purposefully downwardly mobile
I used to think the word creep meant a person you would want to avoid. They might be that guy who you think likes kids in the wrong way, the woman who tried to steal your purse when you picked her up to offer her a ride or just someone that you most definitely don’t want to be around for a variety of reasons.
I’ve also used the word creepy in the context of a “creepy-crawly” meaning an insect that runs about in ways that make me not want them in my bed, or kitchen cupboard; Like a silverfish or…
We saved a dog from a life on the streets, but really she is saving me
C.J. Frick: “Be the person your dog thinks you are”
So a couple of summers ago we acquired a new dog. Well, she wasn’t new to the world. Not a puppy anyway. But she was novel to us. From Kathmandu. Kali (the dog) had been sleeping outside the home of a friend of our daughter. He was working there and had sent a few back to Canada already. Street dogs that looked like they could make good pets. Apparently, that is not the case…
Profoundness from a child
“Pretty much all the honest truth telling there is in the world is done by children”. Oliver Wendell Holmes
When I grow up I’m going to be just like my mum. But I will wear dresses more. I like dresses. She is pretty and I am too.
I might adopt one kid. If his parents don’t really love him in their heart and can’t look after him I will take him.
I don’t like baseball. When they throw the ball for me to hit I am afraid. And I can’t catch. But maybe I will get better at it. …
And why I did not become a nun
Back when my kids were young I used to read parenting books. Kids are Worth It is one by Barbara Colorosa. And it is worth a read. She talks about three different kinds of parents; you can figure out which one you are, and there are lots of good parenting strategies. Not that I agree with everything she says. And there is one thing my partner taught me that Barbara doesn’t agree with, and that is that once in a while you can say “because I said so” when your kid asks you why they have to do something. …
We all need people — community — love
“Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.”― Jane Howard
He heard his mama leave for work like she did some nights. The click of her heels on the floor, the sound of the door being locked once she closed it and entered the hallway of the apartment building. Usually, she came and said a last “good night Jared, I love you” and told him to be a good boy and keep watch over his little sister. Tonight he figured she thought…
Because I want my grandchildren to have a chance at life
Gas prices where I live have been going up. And I hope they keep doing so. Hitting the pocketbook so folks have to make different choices. It seems unfair, since there are of course people that have to drive. But most of us can make choices; and if the cost was exorbitant, some people would. They could think about not driving when they didn’t need to. Walking when they could, riding a bicycle, or god forbid, taking a bus.
People can choose more efficient cars, arrange to carpool, go…
But I always tried not to lose my children
“Grief is the price we pay for love. Every mother dreads that cost” — Sarah Sands
I lose things often
Usually keys and sometimes sunglasses. I haven’t lost a child yet. I mean that I haven’t had one die. I always felt it was my responsibility to get them to adulthood. The mother’s job. And I did. All the ones I gave birth to and that joined us by adoption made it to legal age. Somehow this was a milestone that I aspired to. Keep them alive until they are leading their lives, making their own decisions. Until then try to help them to make the ones that will be good for them. Keep them buoyant and on the right…
People make our lives richer and our time here worth living
I am awake. It is 4:49 a.m. I am seized with thoughts that to me are brilliant, to others maybe not so much. I am reminded once again by this past weekend, about how life is indeed filled with moments.
Sometimes it is longer than moments, even much longer; hours or days of happiness, of sadness, of confusion or whatever your prevailing emotion or state. Chunks of time that shift, sometimes it seems with the wind but more likely by life. The life you plan can help make some of these times happen. …
It almost broke my family and I want you to understand why I felt my next step was necessary
“What mental health needs is more sunlight, more candor, and more unashamed conversation.” ― Glenn Close.
We have been juggling/struggling for a long time.
As parents to a large family, most of whom joined us as older children by adoption from the foster care system, we have experienced more than our share of trauma; vicarious, secondary and some more direct.
Why Is Society Struggling So Much With Mental Health Today?
My partner and I were raised to believe you don’t ask for help.
Coping became what we did well, in spite of some very traumatic events that occurred within our family and those experienced by our kids prior to coming…
Catherine Dunn
old but not dead, mother, partner, grandmother, writer, Canadian
