Dakota, my big malamute, is straining at the leash, pulling me forward.  But Jessica, my young daughter, is dawdling ten steps behind. As usual, Taz and I are caught in the middle.  Taz, my mid-size, part-cocker spaniel, part-chow mutt, stands patiently by my left foot while I sort the others out.  I tell Dakota,…

Every other Thursday evening, I bring Jessica to the library so we can listen to the storyteller. Miss Linda is a gentle woman of late middle age, with the quietly expressive voice of an experienced kindergarten teacher. Though all of the other children who come to listen are much younger, Jessica doesn’t seem to notice or…

In September, Jessica announced that she was moving in with her father. I have been her main caretaker since, well, her entire life, so as you can imagine my immediate response was WHAT THE HELL???? She dropped this on me the day I picked her up from school after she’d had her monthly visitation with…

Jessica has just come home from her father’s house, and I have already had her lecture on my terrible eating habits (“I made you a menu,” she has informed me. “Why did you eat popcorn and cookies all week?”) and already she has drawn up a new menu full of healthful foods and we have…

Jessica has been home from the hospital for several days now and is recuperating well, whereas I am still in need of strong drink. She is an amazing young woman and I am so very proud of how she faces her struggles and challenges with such courage and dignity. I am still a little embarrassed…