When people ask if we have pets, it’s always been an easy no. We have seven kids, why would we need pets?! At the same time, I wanted my kids to be comfortable around animals and compassionate towards them. I saw a flyer at our library for a program where you read to shelter animals.
Great, I thought, it’s an opportunity for exactly what I wanted – exposure to animals plus reading practice. What’s not to love?
Earlier this week, I was dreading going to get two of my kids new passports. Getting a child’s passport is one of my least favorite jobs as an adult. I understand why the process has to be so tedious and regimented, but that doesn’t make it any easier.
I have been lectured more than once when I showed up for a passport application appointment missing some crucial piece of documentation. It put me right in the place of a disobedient child, feeling chastised and frustrated with myself for not doing better.
I’m back from the Jane Austen retreat. Every part of my body hurts, I’m exhausted, but I had such a good time. I wanted to share a little about the weekend while it was fresh on my mind.
A year ago, we did our first camping trip with friends. We’ve camped a number of times with family, but had never been fully independent camping. We’d camp with my parents and they brought the camp kitchen and planned the meals. I was pretty nervous the first time we went it alone. But then we had an amazing time and were talking about doing it again this year by the end of that first trip.
These past weeks, unless you were living under a rock, the already scary, unpredictable, and unfeeling world we’ve been living in got worse. Then a few days ago, one of my teenage daughters was assaulted by a former friend over a false rumor.
