Tub drain

Turd in the Tub

When my daughter was about three years old, she pooped in the bathtub. You read that right, she left a turd in the tub. I seized the opportunity to make the moment a teachable one. She knew better but had done it anyway. On discovering the gift as the water drained, I asked her why…

ABCs of 2023

Learning our ABCs is the beginning of learning how to communicate. They are the foundational building blocks upon which languages are built. Once the alphabet is committed to memory, one can never unlearn it. When letters are combined, they hold meaning. Acceptance, Boundaries, and Communication were the ABCs of 2023 for me. Combining these life…

woman waiting

W.A.I.T.

Recently brought to my attention is the acronym W.A.I.T. It can mean, why am I talking? or what am I thinking? I thought it was brilliant. When put into those terms, the acronym supports the word by suggesting a pause before acting or reacting. A split second of pausing can make a huge difference. Comments…

a nearly full cookie jar

Fill the Cookie Jar

Lifting the lid off a cookie jar only to discover nothing more than crumbs is disappointing. We expect the good stuff that was there the day before to still be there. No one reaches into a cookie jar in hopes of coming out empty-handed. So, whose job is it to fill the cookie jar? Does…

tree-hugging

A Tree-Hugging Hippy

Hip-hip Hooray! This Saturday, April 22nd, is Earth Day. I don’t think of myself as a tree-hugging hippy, but I value the Earth and its natural resources. Earth Day reminds us of our planet’s importance and that we must take care of it. The actions of humans are the cause of environmental issues. We are…

Spring Breakers in search of a Chuckwalla

In Search of a Chuckwalla

Over Spring Break, my daughter’s friends decided to take a road trip. They were in search of a chuckwalla. With little money and an equal amount of thought or planning, the group went off to tent camp in the desert. Mesquite, Nevada, was their destination, and finding a chuckwalla was their mission. Why there, and…