The things I do...

...for the love of Chester. I painstakingly go to PetSmart and other such places to buy chews. Chester can be a little bit spoiled when it comes to his rawhide. If it isn't "just right" he will refuse to take it, standing in front of me waiting for me to magically make the new and right one appear. So, I have taken to smearing peanut butter all over his chew because I do not have another brand to give him. He is a rawhide snob.

Hunkering in

It is that time of the quarter where I start to feel burnout. Last year, I didn't know what I was feeling until I reflected later on how tired I was, how my heart wouldn't stop beating fast, and how short a fuse I had with friends or family. This year, understanding that burnout happens, I have been more in-tune with when it creeps up, even though I don't do much to stop it. No walks in the park, or lingering herbal teas, or massages. I start noticing though that the excited anticipation of starting the day anew starts to wane, and I grimace to myself that hopefully one day this week I will get a few hours to do something fun. The vacuuming of the house starts to go longer than a week, the boys may get one walk instead of two. The candle lit at both ends starts to go out. That is when I embrace a small intervention: Hunkering in. It may be 7pm and I am in my jammies and I have a book and I crawl under the covers. I read. I write. I doze off. I sleep. And I always look so forward to that time which reminds me of a cocoon. Knowing that the spring will come, and I will have new energy, new life, ready to face a new career and other exciting events. Hunkering in is the way I connect to myself when the burnout starts threatening me. And it feels so good. Chester, the other morning, was very interested in this hunkering in business. As I was getting into bed, he jumped up and we had a moment. He was cuddly and sweet and I almost...almost...took the covers up and had him hunker in with me. I knew I would regret it, though, with dirty sheets and comforter and how he will burrow his way until I am almost off the bed. But it was sweet, for a minute, to have my warm and cozy boy right next to me. Yes...with everything life has going on for me, hunkering in is good. Very good.

Try a little tenderness

I was listening to NPR this morning (Surprise, surprise) and WAS surprised by a discussion about healthcare reform. Here is the synopsis: Robert Siegel talks to New York Times columnist Nick Kristof about his friend and college roommate Scott Androes, who was diagnosed with Stage Four prostate cancer. In two recent columns, Kristof wrote about Androes, who didn't have health insurance at the time of the diagnosis. In Thursday's paper, Kristof writes that Androes drifted into a coma Sunday and died Monday morning. You know what surprised me as well as the NYT columnist Nick Kristof? That a lot of people wrote in to the columnist blaming his friend for not having health insurance to cover his medical needs. In the end, however, those people that may complain, as well as you and me, paid for the meager healthcare he did receive because, well, sorry to say...he accumulated a lot of bills that he couldn't pay for. Hmmm...Universal healthcare might just be the answer to that little problem. But what REALLY surprised me was the amount of animosity Nick Kristof got about his friend-kind of a "good riddence mentality" to his friend's death. Wow. I guess the whole adage of "treat others as you would like to be treated" means that many people in society are self-harming?

Here is what procrastination looks like

I am in procrastination mode today. I woke up to such a beautiful fall day that sitting down and writing a paper is not happening. I took the boys on a walk and then walked over to the farmer's market. As I was enjoying the fall colors, I realized that now would be the time to get to the Botanic Gardens. After a little back in forth in my head about how I really should sit and start my paper, I decided a short trip to the Garden's was in order. Here are some fall pictures of my favorite place to visit, especially on days when papers need to be written!

Not just for the parents

When I was younger, I used to think A Prairie Home Companion was for folks of...ahem...my parents age. Well, I guess I fall into that category now because I listen to it every weekend. I have discovered some musical gems, as well as a ton of humor. Here is one band I just learned about called Mountain Man. And, the funny thing is the band is made up of 20-something hipster chicks who play bluegrass indie folk music. Enjoy!