Unless you are in a coma, you perhaps might notice that suddenly all my kids’ names changed… or at least most of them did. Amy and Tommy are pseudonyms and have been all along. I changed the names of the other kids and their significant others out of concern for safety and privacy. I perhaps should have done this from the beginning but I tend to just "put it all out there."


My oldest daughter is now Stephanie and her constant companion is Sean. My married son is Kyle and his lovely bride is Marie. Beth is my “Eastern Western girl.”


Thanks to my good friend Kelly who prompted me to clean up my act. Thanks to Nancy Ashe who made the conversion slick and simple. Thanks to my kids who provide unending fodder for this blog.


I am now off to do horse/chicken/guinea pig/cat chores for my vacationing neighbor. We didn’t study much about guinea pigs and chickens in veterinary school. My neighbor has a regular farm in her barn. A few days ago I received an early morning distress call from another neighbor that the horses were out. Sure enough, they were peacefully grazing in the adjacent (unfenced) pasture. The neighbor who called is weary of worrying about her newly laid sod. Seems reasonable to me! Hopefully wiring the gate shut will prevent any more Houdini episodes.


I have really enjoyed doing this blog, and I want to thank my readers for their participation. I was not sure I would have the time to commit to this, but I have come to really enjoy the opportunity to share some observations, frustrations and joys about my family, the attachment/adoption community, and the world around me. I am grateful for this forum.