family

For fifteen years I’ve been sharing stories with you about my experience mothering two daughters. It started in the Free Press, a short weekly column titled: The Parent Trip, where I regaled tales of first pets, embarrassing moments on the playground, catastrophic parenting failures that ranged from...

Don’t you just love June? It feels like a kick-off to the good times. The ‘Friday night’ of the monthly calendar, full of anticipation for the sweet summer ahead. And then there’s the smell. Those sticky buds may be a pain to get off your dog’s paws, but man do they smell good. As the days get...

For the past two years, our summers have included one week dedicated to a family reunion. Last year it was Southbank, BC (you might have to Google that one), and this year it was St. John’s, Newfoundland. Two very different destinations that share one huge thing in common - they’re both a hell of a...

Welcome to the New Year! I’m so grateful to be back. It’s been a minute. (Actually, it’s been over four years and a pandemic’s worth of gritty life lessons and, let’s face it, that’s an eternity.) If we don’t already know each other, I used to work here. I used to tell stories, about my daughters...

It’s that time of year again! Christmas carols in every store, sweet Hallmark movies on TV that make us cry, and everyone on social media celebrating “the most wonderful time of the year.” That’s the type of holiday celebrations our North American culture encourages, even though our families may be spread throughout the world and have many generations, religions, races, in-laws and out-laws to manage. We may also carry memories of our own childhood holidays that have blurred into Norman Rockwell perfection, even if they were far from it.

My husband, Gary, has an inoperable brain tumor that wraps around three lobes of his brain. This can affect his memory, hearing, comprehension, speech and more, but he copes remarkably well. His biggest frustrations for himself deal with his issues surrounding aphasia (difficulty expressing oneself through speech), anomia (difficulty remembering names of things), and hearing loss.

Just because your dog is friendly, it doesn’t mean they will joyfully welcome your new baby. I work with a lot of people who bring home a new baby and discover their dog is very unhappy with the new addition. From the dog’s perspective, this is a big change in their routine. There’s often a change...

The RDEK Electoral Area Housing Needs Report will be presented to the community during an information session next week. “We are excited to be able to share the key findings from the Housing Needs Report, talk about some of the trends observed across the region and answer questions from attendees,”...

Kindness is an incredibly important part of the human experience. Kindness towards others, of course, but also kindness towards ourselves. We are entering into the part of the year when we are often more inclined to be selfless and give, give, give, without turning the tables and directing that same care inwards. I’ve shifted the definition of self-care in my mind and now consider it to be less self-indulgent and more health-focused. How can you better care for yourself than by promoting improved mental and physical health?

Columbia Basin Trust is launching two new programs focused on improving the quality of child care and strengthening the Early Childhood Educator (ECE) workforce in the Columbia Basin with wage and training subsidies. “We heard from child care providers that low wages and high training costs are...