Anyone out there want to help me rearrange the way the world works?

I have an idea that I think could put the planet on a much better trajectory toward the future, eliminate a lot of present day conflicts, help the environment and reduce the chance of nuclear holocaust. I say ... we put kids in charge.

Last night we had a dinner party ... six adults and five kids. We grown-ups are all old friends, and although five different countries were represented at the table everyone over the age of 10 speaks enough... more

The squirrel that drives my internet seems to have a severe case of dropsy, and getting and staying online is proving to be almost impossible. Plus, a trip to town took up my whole day today, so in-depth blog research is not happening. The end result of this one-two blow of frustration is that, rather than a treatise on anything of import, I'm treating you to some photos from the day.

The reason for the trek over and up the island was a dental appointment for me, but I'm not sharing my bite-wing x-rays here. I didn't bother to take any shots of my gaping gob, complete with saliva sucker and dentist fingers, so you won't get anything like that, either. ... more

Continuing the saga of Holly Richardson that started here .

She is also a midwife, and delivering babies seems the perfect job for her. Not content to limit herself to bringing little Americans into the world, she takes her skills on the road. This year she's helped mothers in Rwanda and Zambia. She's now inviting others to help with a project in Zambia. Here's a recent post from her:

Hi friends... more

More on Holly Richardson ...

Not only do many of Holly's kids live with physical limitations, many suffer from mental and emotional fallout from harsh beginnings.

One of their son's fascination with fire sparked a blaze that destroyed the family home. Twenty kids, some in wheelchairs, and suddenly homeless ... what does that bring out in you? Well, in the Richardsons it brought out fortitude, and gratitude for friends by the many.

Unsure what to do, Holly's first response... more

Faster than a speeding vacuum cleaner set on 'Nascar' ... stronger than a two-year old's poopy diaper ... able to leap Kilimanjaros of laundry in a single bound ... Not plane nor bird nor Doc Joyce Brothers, it's a good example of Supermothers! I've been wanting to write about Holly Richardson since I started this blog, but her story, like her family, is so big that I'd not narrowed down the focus enough to know where to start.

Although there are many places where a story about Holly could begin, the basic grabber is this: she's... more

Quite a thought provoking write-up out of the UK takes a look at one mother, and all the different kinds of mothers we are ... "a celebration of the many faces of motherhood". The author, Miranda Sawyer, had her first child last year and claims, tongue in cheek that, "... by law, you can't comment on being a mum unless you are one yourself".

She is, so she can:

By virtue of having a son, I am qualified to write... more

For a child not yet four-years old, Sam is amazingly compassionate. He speaks often of the kids still in the orphanage where he and Cj were cared for, and regularly sorts through his clothes and toys for things to give, "kids that have no family".

He's been known to burst into tears at the thought that dinosaurs have gone extinct, and was so very touched and touching about the dead baby hedgehog tenrec the cats left on our veranda yesterday.

When in Kenya a few months ago, we visited the ... more

While working on yesterday's 'Things about me' list, I pulled out an old and favored quote of mine from Gloria Steinem: I hate writing, but I love having written. I first heard this years ago when I was working on a novel, and it so well summed up my feelings that I've never forgotten it.

Some ... more

This is the last post in the series, continued from here ... Although birth parents and adoptive parents come at adoption from different directions, there can be a few places where paths cross.

Agencies can be where the concerns meet, and both partners in this dance may be unhappy with the tune played by the professionals ... since the end result is supposed to be one partner ending up with an armful of love and the other... more

Continued from here ... I was thinking it would sound strange to Jan that the crisis pregnancies of my teen years figured very little in my negative reactions to what I was perceiving as slights from the birth mom brigade, but now that I'm writing it down ... and having a much better grip on what's the same and what's different ... it seems likely that it will make sense to her that this is the case. After all, my bio kids are just... more