Cynthia Anderson's Blog, page 4

The Power of Chores- Podcast Extra

If you were to look up the word “chore,” you’d find many forms of the same definition: “Chores are tasks that are viewed as boring or unpleasant.” According to my children, chores have a different definition: A way to torture your kids and make them do all of the work. In my family, assigning chores actually became a chore for me! Every time I asked my children to complete a task, it became an argument and the actual completion of the task was delayed as long as possible. My children, much li...

National Zoo Keeper Week

What is National Zoo Keeper week?:

In recognition of dedicated animal care professionals, the American Association of Zoo Keepers (AAZK) and zooquariam across the nation are celebrating National Zoo Keeper Week from July 19-25. In addition to bringing awareness to the animal care field, AAZK’s NZKW promotes professionalism and the dedication to conservation shared by all keepers. This year, AAZK is introducing its #ItTakesAZoo social media campaign to showcase how zoo keepers collaborate with...

Recipes

Celebrate National Veggie Burger Day!

Say Something Nice

“If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” I heard this a lot growing up. And as much as I agree with this age-old advice, I would like to tweak it. “If you can’t say something nice, try.” With few exceptions, there is always an opportunity to show kindness or to be nice.

Say Something Nice Day was started in 2006 with the idea of putting a spotlight on the mental and emotional damage that occurs because of bullying. We as a people have had many discussions with each other, wi...

Words I Never Thought I Would Say

Borrowing one of my favorite lines from an “American Idol” contestant cut from the competition: “What just happened here?”
That is the question I have been asking myself. When did I become that woman in the store who hears a baby cry and makes a beeline to the young mom with an arsenal of “helpful” advice? I hear things come out of my mouth like, “Oh, does your baby need a bottle?” In addition, I look at stressed out mommies and I want to hug them and utter the deadly platitudes:

“These ...

You Are The Best Mom Your Kids Ever Had

,My son Michael tells me, “You are the best mom I ever had.” Every time he tells me that, I smile. I’ve thought a lot about that sentence. Michael means it to tell me he loves me. But, as I ponder the play-on-words, except for the obvious, I wonder what makes that true. The common applications of mothering might suggest that mothers could be interchangeable. It might seem as though anyone could be capable of running a home and keeping up with the day-to-day schedule. This might suggest that my c...

Words I Never Thought I Would Say

Borrowing one of my favorite lines from an American Idol contestant cut from the competition: What just happened here? That is the question I have been asking myself. When did I become that woman in the store who hears a baby cry and makes a beeline to the young mom with an arsenal of helpful advice? I hear things come out of my mouth like, Oh, does your baby need a bottle? In addition, I look at stressed out mommies and I want to hug them and utter the deadly platitudes: These are the best...

You Are The Best Mom Your Kids Ever Had

My son Michael tells me, You are the best mom I ever had. Every time he tells me that, I smile. Ive thought a lot about that sentence. Michael means it to tell me he loves me. But, as I ponder the play-on-words, except for the obvious, I wonder what makes that true. The common applications of mothering might suggest that mothers could be interchangeable. It might seem as though anyone could be capable of running a home and keeping up with the day-to-day schedule. This might suggest that my...

Teen Literature Day

For this list I have excluded religious texts, plays, short stories, and books from a series. These five books meet a certain criterion I have established for myself to separate abominable, poor, average, excellent, and life-changing literature. A book must: Instruct Warn Entertain Thus, these are my favorite books: The Once And Future King by T.H. White The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Great Expectations by Charles Dickens The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky...

Save the Elephant Day

...I can watch elephants for hours at a time, for sooner or later the elephant will do something very strange such as mow grass with its toenails or draw the tusks from the rotted carcass of another elephant and carry them off into the bush. There is mystery behind that masked gray visage, and ancient life force, delicate and mighty, awesome and enchanted, commanding the silence ordinarily reserved for mountain peaks, great fires, and the sea. Peter Matthiessen, The Tree Where Man Was Born I...