I have spent a great deal of time lately working on a grant proposal to get VISTA volunteers for ATN. I absolutely hate anything business related and would far, far prefer to be doing the service side of things than the business side of things. Must be why they finally figured out towards the end of my time in vet school that it would be wise to teach vets to be business managers as well… it isn’t necessarily an inherent ability.

Anyway, as I was writing up the section on “Community Needs” I needed some statistics.... more

The other night when Beth returned from swim practice, she informed me, “A lady in the bleachers said I was a really good swimmer!”

“You ARE a really good swimmer!” I replied.

“How would YOU know? You never watch me!”

Busted!! But the truth is, they discourage parents from watching regularly. And I watch her year round during three different meet seasons. But… here I sit tonight, watching her…

I brought my laptop for the repetitive times and was contemplating what to write about tonight. I also... more

I received a call from the high school guidance counselor who has been working with Amy this past year. I have thought several times about calling her, but have resisted the temptation. Because I can see online the status of Amy’s grades and attendance at school, I have known for a couple of weeks that things were going south. I debated calling the counselor, but what would I say? What could I possibly say or do that would change anything? The counselor already thinks negatively about me… I have gotten the vibes. She “sort of”... more