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Jul 9

Summer Checklist

What is on your summer checklist? It really feels like summer–it is so hot and humid! Poor Victory is panting on her walks, and we have to sometimes cut them short, as a result of the heat. Below are 10 low-key things I’m hoping to do this summer…

Swim. Enjoy a lot of swimming time at the pool together. We love the pool we belong to, and Alex is enjoying the summer swim team, in addition to still practicing with her year-round team! It is always fun to pack our lunch and get take out for dinner at the pool on the weekends!

Read. Read more books for fun! I recently started reading this fun, creative book: The Book of Alchemy: A Creative Practice for an Inspired Life.

Play more games. Alex likes playing games, and we are trying to play more games as a family–Mexican Train Dominoes is a favorite!

See art in real life. Alex loves art, and we have been reading books about art, and she wants to see more art in real life, and fortunately we do not live far from the Smithsonian museums!

Grill more food. Doug is a really good cook, and we hope to use our Big Green Egg, more this summer, to enjoy more grilled foods, but it has been so hot here, recently!

Get more ice cream. We found a new favorite place to get ice cream, and Victory absolutely loves it!

Go fruit picking. We are going to pick some sort of fruit this summer; we missed picking strawberries this spring, so we are looking forward to picking some other fruits this summer!

Go to the beach. We plan to take a trip to the beach, and Alex and Victory both love the beach, and we always have great memories together!

Celebrate Alex’s Birthday. We are excited to celebrate Alex’s birthday in a few days! She is so excited and she’s excited to celebrate with her little friends!

Building in more down time. I literally feel like the time is flying by way too fast, and, at times, it is hard to keep up with. Sometimes, there is so much going on, that we do not plan enough down time, and I plan to do better about planning down time together.

Jun 23

Summer Time: Grandparents

Happy Summer! Alex recently finished first grade, already! It is difficult to believe! We had a little family celebration the morning of her moving-up ceremony at school!

Then, we packed and took Alex to Michigan to visit my parents! Alex spent a week on her own in Michigan, and she had a blast! This was her first time spent away with out one of us with her, and she did really well! We were really proud of her, and she is excited to return next summer!

While there, we celebrated my Mom’s birthday and my parents’ upcoming 50th wedding anniversary!

We visited for a few days before returning home, and Victory saw her Michigan vet, who we love, and it is wonderful that her vet in Michigan and Maryland are both fantastic — they make a great team! Victory will be having a surgery in July, to remove some masses.

While in Michigan, we got our fireworks, an annual tradition Doug started with Alex, and Victory came with us to pick out fireworks, as always! Alex is now fully stocked for the Fourth of July! We also celebrated Father’s Day together, a week early!

Alex had so much fun in Michigan, and we FaceTimed, nearly everyday! Alex went to her favorite independent bookstore by my parents’ house; she went to the Toledo Zoo where she fed the giraffes and saw many fun animals, including an octopus; she went to Greenfield Village where she rode the train, carousel, a Model-T car, and a horse-drawn carriage, while visiting many historic buildings in the village; and she had special lunches on the patio and she got to try some new restaurants that we do not have in Maryland!

Additionally, Alex did fun activities with my parents. She painted rocks; she made clay animals and other types of arts and crafts; learned the beginnings of how to crochet; made cupcakes and she picked out decorations and decorated them for Father’s Day; she made peanut butter fudge with my Mom; she made a model dinosaur with my Dad; and she fed the birds and squirrels at my parents’ house, to name a few.

Here is Alex feeding a squirrel!

Jun 11

Numinous

Not long ago, I had soured on the idea of undertaking another big project; it didn’t come to me anymore, it seemed. And then, one day, a very clear image came to me, and it was numinous. “It” was back. Whatever “it” was, whatever is the precious substance that infuses life, elevates it, reminds us that humans can be wondrous despite our many failings: I started thinking more and working on an idea that came to me, and my creative juices were flowing after what felt like a drought.

In his famous book, The Idea of the Holy, Rudolf Otto described the “numinous” as a “non-rational, non-sensory experience that is outside of the self.”

These experiences take an infinite number of forms.

Here are three reflections on the numinous.

“The main interest of my work is not concerned with the treatment of neurosis but rather with the approach to the numinous…the real therapy. In as much as you attain to the numinous experiences you are released from the curse of pathology.” —Carl Jung

“To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour”
—William Blake

“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed. This insight into the mystery of life, coupled though it be with fear, has also given rise to religion. To know that what is impenetrable to us really exists, manifesting itself as the highest wisdom and the most radiant beauty which our dull faculties can comprehend only in their most primitive forms — this knowledge, this feeling, is at the center of true religiousness. In this sense, and in this sense only, I belong in the ranks of devoutly religious men.” —Albert Einstein

Jun 3

Abandoned Dogs: Ukraine

Have you seen the wonderful piece in the Washington Post about how the abandoned dogs in Ukraine are finding their forever homes?

After Russia invaded Ukraine, Kyiv’s top diplomat encouraged Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry staff to bring their dogs to work! What a wonderful concept.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has made the security of pets a national priority. The great lengths Ukrainian troops and volunteers have gone to rescue vulnerable dogs in need, has created an extraordinary dog-friendly country. Dogs are now welcome inside most restaurants, cafes, salons, grocery stores, and hotels in major Ukrainian cities. This is an act of profound compassion, and I hope all countries take notice of these amazing individuals, and this overall effort, helping many abandoned dogs in need during this wartime in Ukraine.

Further, the Washington Post article provides vignettes of dogs that have been left abandoned and have found new, loving homes with their adopters in Ukraine. My favorite quote from this article, summarizing the overall theme of this effort, is from an adopter living in Ukraine: “The way we treat animals is a marker of societal development, a reflection of our moral values.” 

We must all step up and give our kindness, respect, and support to these people and organizations that are doing the important and valuable work to find these worthy dogs loving, permanent homes.

The above image featuring adopters with their rescue dog in Ukraine is courtesy of photographer, Serhiy Morgunov, via the Washington Post.

May 29

ABANDONED: IPPY BOOK AWARD

My first book, ABANDONED: Chronicling the Journeys of Once-Forsaken Dogs, recently received an IPPY (Independent Publisher) Book Award, a Silver Medal winner!

Additionally, I am donating a portion of my royalties, earned from the sales of this book, to the SPCA International, helping dogs in need around the globe. You can read more here and here.

And, if you have not ordered your copy of ABANDONED, I hope you will consider ordering ABANDONED today!

May 19

Seeing

“Find a bit of beauty in the world today. Share it. If you can’t find it, create it. Some days this may be hard to do.” –Lisa Bonchek Adams

There have been many hard things going on in our world, and I truly love the quote above, and it rings so true. A bit of beauty can lift us from the mundane, from the drudgery, from the crueler aspects of living. What sweet relief.

I also love Annie Dillard, a great teacher in learning to see.In Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Dillard writes about how, as a young child, she would hide a penny in the roots of a sycamore or a gap in the sidewalk, then draw arrows in chalk toward it, sure that discovering the copper coin would make someone’s day. Years later she could see powerful symbolism in that innocent expectation. Below is an insightful paragraph from Dillard:

There are lots of things to see, unwrapped gifts and free surprises. The world is fairly studded and strewn with pennies cast broadside from a generous hand. But—and this is the point—who gets excited by a mere penny? If you follow one arrow, if you crouch motionless on a bank to watch a tremulous ripple thrill on the water and are rewarded by the sight of a muskrat kid paddling from its den, will you count that sight a chip of copper only, and go your rueful way? It is dire poverty indeed when a man is so malnourished and fatigued that he won’t stoop to pick up a penny. But if you cultivate a healthy poverty and simplicity, so that finding a penny will literally make your day, then, since the world is in fact planted in pennies, you have with your poverty bought a lifetime of days. It is that simple. What you see is what you get.

May 9

Happy Mother’s Day!

I cannot believe Mother’s Day is already upon us. All mothers and mother figures deserve to be celebrated on Sunday. Mothers that have been blessed with babies; mothers who’s babies left too soon; mothers who are waiting to meet their special baby; mothers who are yearning to become a mom; fur moms; and those who are mother figures. We need all types of mothers to help us through this life. The journey towards motherhood is not always freshly paved. The path towards parenthood, for us, was filled with unexpected twists and turns, which made for a long and complicated journey. I feel so fortunate to be a mom to our little human and our beloved fur girl, and I am very grateful for this season together, which I never take for granted. So wherever you are in your journey, you are worthy of every celebration held in your honor. Happy Mother’s Day, to every type of mama out there!

“In all the world, there is  no heart for me like yours.  In all the world, there is no love for you like mine.” — Maya Angelou

Below is Alex and I together on Mother’s Day together, and it is difficult to believe it is our seventh one together!

Apr 30

Spring Break: 2025

We recently had our spring break together, where we all had some time off together from work and school! It has been a crazy first quarter of the year, for sure, and we welcomed some time away together. We have always loved going to the beach, with Victory, a place of refuge, before Alex was born during the off season. So, we decided to go to Rehoboth Beach and Dewey Beach with our girls! We had so much fun together! Alex’s only complaint was that Funland was not open for the season, yet! Doug and Alex picked out a parrot kite, which they successfully flew pretty high, over the ocean!

We made it back home for Easter, and Alex made some beautiful eggs, which she loved creating! Alex and Victory had an Easter egg hunt left by the Easter Bunny, one of Alex’s favorite things she looks forward to on Easter! On Easter day, we went to an Orioles baseball game, which was fun, and the Cincinnati Reds won, to Doug’s delight!

We also received some good news, while we were away, about Victory’s recent health issue, which we are so grateful for. She is on a new medicine, and we are waiting to see how she responds.

It was nice to have some time off together and to be able to spend time together! A few photos of our time away together are shown below!

Apr 25

Nationals: Pups in the Park

Happy Friday! We were on spring break last week! A few weekends ago, we took Alex and Victory to Pups in the Park at the Nationals!  This was our ninth time attending Pups in the Park at the Nationals with Victory, and our third time attending with both Alex and Victory! (You can view our previous trips to Pups in the Park: here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.)  

We had really nice weather for the game–it was a little overcast with really great temperatures, perfect for Victory! This is the second Pups in the Park game that Alex will remember, as she does not remember first going in 2019, prior to COVID, as she had just turned one. Alex and Victory got to meet Screech for the first time at this game! Victory was a little trooper and had fun as well. We all had a great time!

Below are several photos from our visit!  We hope to return for another Pups in the Park game again this fall with our girls!

Happy Friday!

Apr 8

Moving Parenting Advice from Kahlil Gibran

In the final years of his long life, which encompassed world wars and assassinations and numerous terrors, the great cellist and human rights advocate Pablo Casals urged humanity to “make this world worthy of its children.” What is the worth of children, what are our responsibilities to them (when we do choose to have them, for it is also an act of courage and responsibility to choose not to), and what does it mean to raise a child with the dignity of being an unrepeatable miracle of atoms that have never before constellated and will never again constellate in that exact way?

A century ago, perched between two worlds and two World Wars, the Lebanese-American poet, painter, and philosopher Kahlil Gibran (January 6, 1883–April 10, 1931) addressed these elemental questions in a short passage from The Prophet, shown below, which I love.

When a young mother with a newborn baby on her chest asks for advice on children and parenting, Gibran responds:

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.

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