Image created with Google Gemini and Imagen 3 “It’s funny,” one of us kids would say. “What’s funny?” she would ask. “Funny how? Funny ha-ha or funny strange?” This time, Mom, it’s funny strange. It’s funny strange how she’s gone but still so present. It’s funny strange how she’s been gone four years, three years, …
I ran across this quote in a video on social media and it struck me so hard that I watched the video a few times just to get the wording of the quote right. It goes: The magic you are looking for is in the work you’re avoiding. Now, this could be taken in any …
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. Photo source: Eureka! How many of us heard that little rhyme or even recited it ourselves when we were growing up? I know I recited it, even if it was to myself. But do you want to hear something that I’ve learned …
I have probably mentioned this before, but I am unashamedly a child of the 80s. Born in the mid-70s, 80s pop defined my childhood, while 90s and early 2000s pop music defined teens and young adulthood. It’s little wonder, then, that I gravitate toward the local radio station in my town that plays music from …
In an article published on July 11, 2023, The Zebra reported an alarming statistic: On average, every year in the United States, 1.5 million shelter animals are euthanized, approximately 670,000 dogs and 860,000 cats. The primary reason? The shelters are simply too full.[1] On March 1, 2023, Veterinarians.org released an article relating statistics from a …
Freedom to Ride — How One Boy Made it His Mission to See Dogs in Homes, not Cages Read More »
Heavy. That’s how I felt when I woke up this morning. Not just my body, but my mind, too. Brooke Shaden All rights reserved The kind of heaviness that makes me want to crawl right back into bed. The kind of heaviness that makes feeding my dogs a chore and their rambunctiousness an irritation. The kind …
It was April 2016. My mobility challenged mom had decided that she needed a dog that she could have trained to be an assistance dog. So, after a search of the website for an animal shelter we were both familiar with, we decided on a promising litter of pups that had just been surrendered. One …
This is the face that I like to show to the world. Put together, hair styled, makeup in place, smiling. Even greater transparency – this was taken in 2012. Today, I’m going to go for complete transparency. I’m ripping the mask off. Why? To be completely honest not only with the world, but also with …
The first realization I had that I was in love with words came from a conversation with my dad when I was in middle school. The conversation went something like this: Me: I was being facetious. Dad: Do you know what that word means? Me: Sure. It means sarcastic. My love affair with words, however, …
