Healthcanc

(1) LOSING PETS, BEING LIKE PETS Once in a while you'll see a sign on a tree, Have you seen  Fluffy ?  Somebody in my neighborhood keeps losing his iguana and posts pictures in the summer. I always wonder, if I found him, what would I do? But this isn't about that. Therapists hear many pet stories. People are crazy about their animals, marvel at their better qualities, worry when they are ill, and grieve their loss. When a favorite pet moves onto the next world, it is as if a person in the family has died. Because pets are family. They live with us, we feed them; they reciprocate with unconditional love. It is a fair deal. My brother and I have the same memory. You tell me how this happens. He tells the story exactly the same way: One chilly autumn morning, the dog scratched at the back door to go out to the yard. About to leave for school, I saw an accident on the kitchen floor, wiped it up quickly, then let him out. He'd been sick for months, but he was a very old dog. ...

I want to think that everyone has a closetful of plastic bags. Barry Yourgrau's MESS , required hoarder reading The city of Evanston banned plastic grocery bags, the ones we see caught in the branches of trees, if we look up. The good news is that we can now choose between a bag made out of tougher paper (they still break) or new sturdy,  shiny plastic bags that talk. Recycle! We're supposed to bring them back to the store to use them next time. This never happens. They remain in the trunks of our cars because who can remember to shlep something out of the trunk of the car to shop? But the thought of reusing things is nice. Chinese gift bags The cynic in me thinks of an Iranian relative somewhere on the family tree who made his fortune many years ago in the shopping bag business. Smart guy. On a recent vacation, I found the shopping bags in China so crisp, new, and easy on the eye that throwing them away proved challenging. I paused before giving gifts to relatives. A voice ins...

Should I sue the hotel? Not saying there's anything new, here. But is is a practical application, something to keep in mind when someone is busy blaming you for God knows what.  When we think back later, we say, What a silly argument! This morning FD left without his keys. He returned right away and knocked on the door. It took me awhile to open up and he was angry-- at me -- for taking so long, making him late. The best possible spin on this is to assume that sharing emotions is a good thing, better out than in. Permission to let off steam is what healthy couples do. So why does it feel so bad? A few months ago, after stubbing my toe on the metal frame of a hotel bed, I cried out. Maybe I even cursed the hotel. It hurt a lot, warranted expletives, facial grimaces. The object of the anger, unclear. A person can't exactly rant at a bed frame, it is inanimate, doesn't care. Hotel management might care, but it is inconvenient to go to the front desk, ask for the manager, compl...