In an attempt to bring some peace to my life I have taken up Zen Meditation. Well, not so much “taken up” as gone to group three times and wish I had a better grasp of it. Usually this wish comes some time between “Mom I need five empty soda bottles for school tomorrow” and “The dog smells like a butt.” I’ve done other types of meditation, guided relaxations in which soothing voices encourage my breath to continue in and (...Read More)

Last weekend brought another round of sickness to the household. Son H. was very pale and lethargic. It could have been end-of-the-week tiredness, I thought, the kind that builds gradually: an emotional low-pressure system leading to increased crankiness on Thursday evening, stormy tempers through Friday, and much tearful precipitation on Saturday. But when we offered H. potstickers (Chinese dumplings) for dinner, and he refused them, we knew something bigger was brewing. Not five minutes later he was vomiting all over (...Read More)