humanity

Humanity begins at home.

Pops. Runner-Up in Return of the Night Owl Challenge.
“We have to go Dev!” I plead from downstairs. I listen for our son’s begrudging footsteps while I adjust my tie, printed with a clever looking owl. But he’s ignoring me as usual.
By Jessica Berkmen4 years ago in Families
How YOU Can Help Break the Stigma Around Mental Health
At face value, I appear as a person that has everything together. I run a successful company, I am a Chartered Director, a published author, and a mom. I am a leader in my community and a mental health advocate. How could I possibly have any experience with stigma or mental illness?
By Jessica Gale Friesen4 years ago in Families
Today is the Day
Looking Forward to New Beginnings I love when the month of December comes around. Our family ritual has always been to thoroughly clean the entire house top to bottom. No dust bunny or deep dirty crevices stood a chance. I love the feel of throwing away the very thing I once convinced myself I needed. Now here it is eleven months later facing all the things that did not make the cut. The endless bottles of magic hair potion claiming to do the impossible. Or the mountain of supplements that could not make it into my busy schedule. There was always this drive or this anticipation of a new me, a better me and somehow all I needed was the beginning of a new year and a good strong wish.
By Angela 4 years ago in Families
How do you know your cat is hungry and give it a meal
How do you know that your cat is hungry, knowing that animals do not have the ability to speak? But thanks to her body language, it's possible to tell when she wants something. Let's see together how to understand if the cat is hungry.
By Samara Ben4 years ago in Families
4 Reasons Why Opening Your Home Will Connect Communities.. Runner-Up in We Have a Dream Challenge.
We don't give out our house keys anymore. Growing up, we never locked our house. In fact, my house was Grand Central Station with beds. Every day another person would be joining us for dinner or spending the night just because.
By willow j. ross4 years ago in Families
A lady's manual for her man's wellbeing (Ladies Guide!!!)
When was the last time your better half had a test? Assuming that you can't recollect that, you're unquestionably not the only one. Raise a visit to the specialist, and you rapidly discover that most men would prefer to assist you with looking for pants than set foot in a MD's office.
By John Viany4 years ago in Families
Learning about the Country Life of Relatives Taught Me How Rich and Blessed They Are
Visiting Our “Poor” Relatives I remember as a child when we used to go with our parents to visit our relatives way up in the mountains. We lived in Puerto Rico and our relatives lived in Las Piedras about 2000 feet above sea level. They were a family of seven children and the parents-nine all living under the same roof. Their living quarters comprised three open-plan shacks. The first one was the living room. It had a 13" black-and-white TV on a small side table and a ripped-up couch. They divided the second one into two bedrooms. One with four full-size beds and the other with one queen-size bed. The third shack was the dining room and kitchen. Then there was an outhouse. Also, they bathed in the river or gathered water in buckets and brought it to the house to bathe in an outdoor area enclosed with zinc panels.
By Debbie4 years ago in Families
An Unfortunate Incident at the Theme Park
It was a pleasant evening in late December. My teenage daughter, her friend, and I had planned a fun evening at the local waterpark, which was transformed into a magical winter wonderland for the holiday season.
By B.R. Shenoy4 years ago in Families
The Woman
I'd have to say my dad was my first hero and even though he died when I was 14, I still think about him when I have decisions to make. My dad was a good man in many ways, but one of the occasions I remembered really made an impact on how I wanted to be like him.
By Yvette McDermott4 years ago in Families
The Wedding Gift
She is a ‘blah blah blah’ type. He is a ‘hmm hmm hmm’ one. She trusts in God. He is an atheist. She believes in omens, good and bad. He nurtures scientific temper.
By Hari Prakash4 years ago in Families
Motherhood
On Sunday evenings the mice in my garden shiver. I never knew that animals could have such an acute sense of schedule, shivering because every Sunday the white barn owl feasts. She swoops from tree to tree, gliding mere meters from the ground before diving in amongst waves of grass and reemerging with one of their kin. Sometimes I sit and watch her, asking myself if I would give up my life for hers. The power of flight, the cunning of a killer, the freedom to eat, sleep and soar. I look at my hands grasping a lukewarm cup of coffee, a half-smoked cigarette and returning my gaze to the sky notice that the owl has decided my barren land has nothing to offer. Mice that do dwell here sigh in relief and continue with their daily activities. My ears are bitten with a January breeze as I shiver, deciding to abandon the other half of my cigarette in exchange for warmth. The house is quiet, save the clock ticking obnoxiously at me, I can hear the walls shrink and expand with each of my breaths. My cage, interrupting my thoughts, she screams, the source of my entrapment- waking up as the birds go to sleep. I must feed her. Her cries pierce my ears as I lift her to my chest to console her. Speaking in this ridiculous voice and smiling without my eyes. It does not help. She can feel me. Why can't I feel her? She refuses her bottle and so I sit rocking back and forth with my child by my cheek. Although I've just escaped from the cold, all that will soothe her is the evening air, and so I wrap both of us up for a walk.
By Sophie Odira-Hansing4 years ago in Families
Encanto
Well, Disney did it again. They made a colorful, magical animated kid's movie with a moral of how toxic families can destroy themselves.
By Mae McCreery4 years ago in Families