A new take on pizza

Pi, pie, slice, za. However you refer to it, pizza is delish.

It can come in any endless variety--thick crust, thin, hand-tossed, wood-fired or baked. Maybe you prefer yours loaded with meat or heaped with veggies. Whether it's traditional or gourmet, there is no shortage of option for the ever-loving pizza. 

Our family recently took a short road trip to an establishment where they served wood-fired pizza right on the farm. It was a beautiful drive from the La Crosse area, up Hwy. 35, through Fountain City. From there you wound your way down a winding country road, up and down beautiful lush valleys. The destination is a family-owned farm where they serve pizza on Thursdays and Fridays throughout the summer. 

We read on the website to bring your own chairs or blankets to have a proper picnic-style dinner. I packed some juice and water, snacks and veggies, plates and utensils and we were set! The kids grabbed a spot on the lawn near the swing set. We ordered our Za at the window, we were pizza numbers 65 and 66. They were currently working their way through the thirties. We settled onto the blanket as the kids ran and played, with the many other kids and families who were relaxing nearby. Somehow our beer seemed to taste better out in the open, the smells of campfire and pizza ever present. Our wait didn't seem so long, without having to contain kids and make them sit. Within about 45 minutes we had our two pizzas and sat down to enjoy! The kids devoured a cheese pizza, and we enjoyed ours with beautiful heirloom tomatoes and a touch of bacon and basil. Not too shabby for a Friday night! 

I had packed the fixin's to make s'mores, and the farm provided the sticks and the fire pit. We didn't even have to bribe our kids to finish their food to get dessert! Our drive home was relaxing and everyone fell into bed more than happy! Next summer if you find yourself with a free Thursday or Friday evening, might I recommend packing up a picnic basket with some goodies and a blanket and heading to Suncrest Gardens outside of Fountain City. It might not be great for the waistline, but it sure is wonderful for the soul!

Wrestling with technology

Technology, good or bad? Helpful or not? 

I think my answer to this is simple, when working properly and used in moderation, technology can be a wonderful and enhancing addition to our everyday lives. However, there is always the evil flip side to this scenario. 

Often times technology seems to operate and go about it's merry way, not behaving the way we want or need it to! Think about all the computer gadgets now in our vehicles and the constant updates, upgrades, notifications we receive on our computers. We have a home equipped with some "smart" technology. Our heating and cooling system is run via an iPad in the wall. Looks neat, until it isn't working properly. I have spent more time on the phone with repair people and can practically call them friends for how frequently they've needed to come "fix" things. My husband swears our next home will be equipped with the bare bones and less technology is better. 

I have to say, it is nice to have fun music at my fingertips, a car that cools to my desired temperature, the ability to see loved ones face to face, even when they live thousands of miles away. Most of the conveniences we live with would be very difficult to give up. Today I am grateful that we have an alarm on our freezer when the door is left open, even if the beeping is truly annoying! It saved us a lot of money not having to replace those waffles and ice cream! 

There is always the constant battle in our home with our children and technology. They are so accustomed to electronics--iPads, Tv's, smart phones, digital cameras and so on. We have to monitor their frequency and what type of sites they are visiting. If given the chance, our son would love nothing more than an uninterrupted day spent playing MineCraft on the iPad. Rules are constantly in place so this won't happen, but it really is a battle! So to live in relative peace with the technology that is such a part of our lives, I must keep chanting the mantra use in moderation, and if broken, be nice to your repair guy/gal, they may be your new best friend!

Breakfast saver

Ok all of you parents who have sent your kids back to school, can I get a yee-haw? It's a bittersweet time for sure, for some more sweet than bitter or vice versa. But now you may find yourself deep in the throws of the morning chaos. If you are a well-oiled machine in the morning, you need not read on, but for those of us who could use some help or assistance, I have been introduced to a wonderful new breakfast option that may save you some time during the a.m. rush.

I am borrowing these recipes from a wonderful blog site called The Yummy Life. The blogger, Monica Matheny, has some wonderful tips and recipes, she's well worth checking out when you get an opportunity. www.theyummylife.com 

My new go-to breakfast is an overnight, no-cook refrigerator oatmeal. You will need a Mason jar with a lid and a great imagination! I found some awesome rubber Bell jars with lids at Menards, but I'm sure they can be found in various other stores. This is packed with nutrition and makes for a great grab and go option if need be. You simply fill the jar about with about a half cup of old fashioned oats, not the quick or steel cut variety. Pour a bit of milk over the top, any kind will do. Then add greek yogurt, I love the plain Chobani, around a half a cup, but add more or less to your liking. Then simply fill in the rest with whatever concoction sounds good to you! Yesterday I mixed raspberries and a bit of vanilla extract. The second jar had blueberries and maple syrup. The last jar I used almonds, honey and some cinnamon. Then you simply shake or mix well, cover and set in the refrigerator to enjoy in the morning! The oatmeal soaks up the liquid and you have a wonderful, hearty breakfast. My kids each picked a flavor that they liked and devoured it! It's such a great thing to prepare the night before and know that one extra step is complete for the morning.

Share your favorite recipe, there are so many to try! Enjoy.

Another chapter ends

Well it is truly that time of year again, when the days are getting a bit shorter and the kids a bit antsier. 

That's right, the end of summer is just around the corner. Sprinklers will be jumped through just a few more times, Kool-Aid and lemonade stands will be flipping their closed signs over until next season. Soon the days of sleeping in and staying up late will be over, replaced by frantic mornings rushing out to catch buses and race into school. All over the city parents are checking their back-to-school lists and checking them twice. 

It seems that this summer was on super warp speed for some reason. I think it had something to do with the weather, and summer arriving so late after such a rainy spring. Then when it hit, it hit with a force and it continued on at a frantic pace. About a week ago I was lamenting the fact that I would be sending my kids back to school so soon, and I wasn't ready. 

Then another week went by, and the whining seemed to amp up to an almost unbearable level, and suddenly, school cannot start soon enough! I'm sure I'm not the only parent feeling this way! Kids are tired of the same old same old, and I'm ready for some routine to enter back into our lives. Brains need to be challenged and bedtime routines reestablished once more. Now I would feel so much better if those dang school lists were complete. Can anyone tell me where I can find the elusive skinny dry-erase markers? 

Ah summer, you will be sorely missed. Come back soon, and thanks for all of the wonderful memories.

Refreshed in the North

As the summer slowly slipped from July to August, our family closed

the chapter on yet another week-long family tradition.

We spent the week up at a lake cabin near the Hayward area. While no vacation could ever be "perfect" this was a much-needed escape and came close to reaching this title. We spent the week on a glorious lake with fantastic weather nearly every day. 

Some very close friends of ours were just across the bay with their three kids. Our families are close, and our kids get along swimmingly! They played hide and seek in the dark, sat by a campfire, roasted countless s'mores, fished and swam daily and just generally enjoyed each others' company. 

By having their companions to play with, the adults were able to enjoy some conversation and down time. We didn't solve any critical world issues, but we didn't even try! We too enjoyed our companions and the scenery of the great outdoors. Even our dogs romped with abandon and ran to their hearts' content. 

The only down side was the week came to far too abrupt an end. Why don't these moments stretch on a bit longer? Why does a hot dog taste so much better roasted over an open flame? Why is the sound of your kids' laughter like music as they bounce across the water on an inner tube? Like I said, it wasn't perfect. The gnat bites along my leg are evidence of that, but that was so worth it! So we came back a bit lighter, a bit more refreshed, even if we are scratching and itchy for the next few days! 

So until the great north woods beckons again, we have some wonderful new memories to carry us forward.

Seeking balance

As I approach the horizon to middle age, I sit and ponder my life. 

Using the Balance Your 7 website is a nice guide. What areas can I improve on, where do I find I have strengths? I know that overall I am a pretty happy, relatively "balanced" person. My mind could certainly be sharper, and I could foster my sense of community and spirituality a bit more, but I have decided to focus on work for this particular blog. 

As a college student and early twenty-something person I always envisioned myself working in a fast-paced environment, with lots of travel and new experiences. I did get the opportunity to work like this for many years, but then along came baby number one, and my corporate days were over. I never imagined myself as a stay-at-home mom, but now I have a hard time thinking of doing anything else! I consider myself very fortunate to be able to stay home and be with my kids, shuttling them to and fro. Lately though, I'm getting a severe itch to go back to the workforce. The problem is, I'm not sure into what capacity this would be! My skills are all rusty, and buried under so much dust, I'm not sure they exist any longer! So I've decided to write my ultimate job description and see if anyone is "hiring" Here goes:

Enthusiastic, well-seasoned individual seeks challenging new role in life. Job must include travel to wonderful locales, opportunity to sample the cuisine and tons of shopping. Willing to sacrifice some weekends. Will write about my experiences and shop for clients upon request. Can start immediately.

Fur baby

I am one of those people, I will confess, who takes their dog to daycare! What, you may say? 

My husband certainly disagrees with this practice! He wonders why we have a dog, and then spend money on having him exercised by someone else! But I counter with all of the positives, he's being socialized with all types, he's getting over eight hours of exercise, and he LOVES it! 

Yes, it is costly, and I generally only bring him in the winter months. I have another confession (shocking, I know) I brought him last week just because he looked sad and a bit depressed. I brought his best friend Bob too, and they had a blast! He came home and slept for the rest of the day and half of the next as well. With all of the rain we have been having he hasn't been getting as much exercise as usual, and I want him to live forever! 

He's my special friend and such a wonderful member of our family, I'll do just about anything to keep him around longer. So while I know there are just as many pet mommies and daddies who spoil their fur babies just as much as I do, there are others shaking their heads. Well, the look on his face was worth it. And this may not tie directly into how I balance my seven facets of health, it does make me happy and bring a huge smile on my face to see my pooch happy and tired. So it lightens my spirits and helps me check one more thing off my to-do list for the day.

Time

Time is a strange creature. 

When you are young, you have all the time in the world. Just watch a kid stroll home from after school, not a care in the world, unaware of time. Summers used to feel like they stretched on endlessly, one hot afternoon after another, until, like magic, it was time to go back to school. 

You probably heard the saying a time or two as you got older how "time flies." Maybe it means time moves faster as you age. Well suddenly I'm that person and time seems to be melting away. I felt like I had all the time in the world, my kids would stay young, I would forever be far from "middle aged" and life was just ducky. 

Now I face the prospect that I have a child nearing the end of his time at grade school, and having to wear deodorant! My first babe now has feet the same size as mine and soon will surpass me in height. And if he ever ate veggies that would be sooner rather than later! I'm no longer looking forward to my thirties, they too will soon be a thing of the past. Thank God that 50 is the new 40! Ha. 

And time this summer, where oh where has it gone? June was all but a blur and then we welcomed another Fourth of July and oohed and ahhhed at yet another fireworks show. I'm still in denial that we are past the middle of the summer season. Heck, I just started wearing shorts like, last week! So Time, please oh please slow down just a little bit. 

Let us enjoy the brightness of a fresh-bloomed flower and the chirp of a baby bird. I want to ride on a roller coaster until I'm dizzy with laughter and eat a fresh ear of corn dripping with butter. My kids need to stay young and innocent just a bit longer, because this far from "middle-aged" mom needs them to! I'm not quite ready to talk about the remember whens, and the used to be's just yet. I want to embrace the now and soak up every moment before it too is gone.

A 'novel' summer

Well now that we are officially into the summer season, do you gravitate towards one type of reading material or another? 

Maybe you don't have time for books and can only peruse a magazine article. Is this the only time of year you can sit and devour a good novel, maybe while sitting on a beach or flying somewhere fun? Do you read a certain type of book this time of year, lighter hearted or maybe dark and stormy? 

I am always up for a good read, if I had my way my nose would be buried in a book more often than not. I have recently finished a great book that was perfect for anytime of year, but short enough to read on a quick vacation. It was titled Me Before You by JoJo Moyes. Without giving much away, it tackled some pretty hefty life questions in a rather light hearted and uplifting way. She is a British author and the book has a sprinkling of British humor, truly enjoyable. 

I have also just finished The All-Girls Filling Station's Last Reunion by Fannie Flag. She is the same author who wrote Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe. This is a fast, enjoyable read and part of it is set in Pulaski, Wisconsin. It's a book filled with large, enjoyable characters who make this a fun novel to page through. 

I am a bit behind the times but I am finally finishing the Divergent trilogy. It's a bit darker but filled with enough action to keep it interesting. I can only read so much about a dystopian society, but it does prove, if nothing else, entertaining. My kids are required to read a minimum of 20 minutes per day, either with us or on their own. So far this is working and with the idea that they can pick a new book at the library and keep it fresh, we are all happily reading our way through summer! If any of you readers out there have any must-read suggestions, please send them in! In the meantime, here are a few summer booklists to get you started.

A Plan for Your Summer Reading
Summer Books of 2014

Bread. Simple.

Bread. How I love thee. There are not many people who can claim otherwise, we are a society of bread lovers! Unfortunately bread can come with some issues. Maybe you are gluten intolerant and cannot indulge like others. Or you are cutting down on the carbs you eat, and have to restrict the amount you enjoy. 

Still bread remains such a simple food delight, especially in our household. Sure, if my kids had their way they would eat only white bread, with very little nutritional value. I buy only whole grain or whole wheat, but occasionally we eat some wonderful baguettes or a loaf of crusty French. I was recently introduced to a new method to baking this crusty delicacy. 

A baker in Brooklyn discovered a new way to make a simple loaf of this bread right in our own homes, without the need for fancy equipment or ingredients. Instead of keeping this to himself he went to the New York Times and shared for all to enjoy. My girlfriend hosted a dinner and prepared a loaf for our meal, and what a treat it was! The dough is prepared fourteen to twenty hours prior to baking, and left to rise on your countertop. Then it is baked in a dutch oven or heavy cast iron pan at a high heat for approximately sixty minutes. The result? A large loaf of crusty on the outside, chewy on the inside, bread with just the perfect amount of a rich warm brown to color the outside. It was fabulous and we all indulged! 

The recipe is here, and I urge you to give it a try! If you yourself cannot eat this, it would make a great gift for all of your bread-loving friends! Take it from me, a non baker, even I can tackle this one with success. Enjoy!

Same body. New challenge.

The first of the seven in Balance Your 7 is body. 

As I age, this particular component seems to be taking on a mind of its own! I try to exercise on a regular basis, and as I reach closer to middle age, my metabolism is definitely not what it used to be. 

To combat this I've just started a new form of exercise called TRX training. It is commonly used by the military to train soldiers. Using bands suspended from the ceiling and using your own body weight, various exercises are performed. Sounds easy right? Ha, who would have thought your own body, that thing you are trying so hard to shape, could prove so challenging and resistant? Because of our schedules and the ages of our kids, I have found that I need to exercise early in the morning, or it never seems to happen. Lucky for me a local gym is offering early classes, and three times a week happens to be TRX! 

I am now into my second week, and if you see me out and about you may notice I'm walking rather stiff and sore, a TRX side effect! I hurt in places I never knew possible, and am loving every minute of it! The beauty of the class is you can tweak each exercise to fit your ability and level of difficulty. Within each exercise, different muscle groups are isolated and worked for approximately thirty seconds to a minute at a time. Our classes last for approximately 45 minutes, and time flies! 

I want the body I had when I was 22, before kids, able to eat and drink what I wanted without side effects. I know that is no longer possible and that particular vessel is long gone, so in the meantime I need to keep this body as healthy as possible. It helps to shake things up a bit, try new things and see just how far you can push yourself. This is a great, safe way to do that. Who knows, I may even see faint glimmers of that 22-year-old in there somewhere! I dare you to go out and try something new for yourself and whatever current body you have today! 

To read more about Gundersen Health's Balance Your 7, click here.
To read more about TRX, click here.

Preparing for the Final Days

One of our favorite rituals involves lazy Sunday mornings, dressed in our most comfy of comfy pj's, steaming mug of coffee and settled comfortably on the couch watching the show CBS Sunday Morning. It's a fantastic program that features short stories, sometimes based on a theme, usually very interesting and always well delivered. My husband and I could always be found this way on any given Sunday, enjoying our hour or so of a.m. television.

Well those days are gone! 

Now it's usually recorded and watched whenever we can grab a free chunk of time, more often than not, mid-week and in between refereeing our three kids. Needless to say, it does not carry the same effect it does on a lazy, quiet Sunday morning! But we manage to forge on and still enjoy the show. A few weeks ago we happened to both be seated together and caught up on the latest episode, and much to our surprise the show featured a wonderful segment on our own Gundersen Health System! They showed scenes of downtown La Crosse, and interviewed some locals in a coffee shop. In case you missed it, the theme for the week was death. A grim topic for sure, but this segment remained rather upbeat. In our small town at last count, 96 percent of the people who passed away here had created advance directives. That's the highest percentage of end-of-life planning in a nation where only about 30 percent of all adults have such a document.

An advance directive is a statement of patient preferences that tells everyone else: This is what I do (and do not) want to keep me going--and perhaps most importantly, who will speak for me when I can't. It is a fantastic program that helps ease the burden of decision making if such an event arises. It's not the most pleasant topic to discuss, but at some point the end comes for all of us, in one form or another. A hefty topic to ponder while sipping coffee on a sofa! But it did raise a discussion between my husband and I--one where we both shed some light onto how and what our wishes would be. 

La Crosse is definitely doing something right! The segment is a great reminder of having things in place, and planning ahead if possible. It's worth watching, if for no other reason than to see our community in a national spotlight, for taking the initiative that may help many families.

"The ultimate content of this conversation, I think, isn't about death," said Gundersen's Bud Hammes. "I think the ultimate topic that's being discussed is how people care for each other. And so what comes out at the end of the conversation is, 'I love you, and I now know how to take good care of you.'"

Being Prepared for the Final Days

On yoga...and spirituality...

Down dog, up dog, warrior one, warrior two, crescent lunge, child's pose. 

Some of you may recognize some of these yoga terms, others may not. They are all terms used to describe certain poses done during a yoga practice. 

Whether challenging your balance, your coordination, your strength or maybe your spirit, the benefits of yoga are too numerous to mention. For me lately, it's been a place I've been going to, at the end of a busy week, to stretch not only my limbs but my psyche as well. I've found a great sense of peace and a calming effect that yoga has on me. 

One of the core elements to Gundersen Health's Balance Your 7 is spirituality. 

For some, there is an obvious place to find this, a church or place of worship is where you seek comfort. For others it maybe in the company of nature, or fellow friends. I find myself enlightened in multiple places, one of which is while practicing yoga. Lately the positive energy in my classes has been almost palpable, something that lifts one's spirits, especially needed during this dreary period of weather we have been experiencing. I look forward to gaining physical strength with each class I attend, but also I find I've been looking inward and finding out a bit more about myself too. 

Self discovery and growth is not the side effect I thought I would find in a sweaty yoga class, but when struggling to do dancer pose or going up in wheel, I learn a bit more about who I am and how I can continue to travel in the same direction or change course if need be. There are many mottos to live by, many ways to live. Yoga may not be for everyone, I'm so thankful I found it and it found me, may I continue to grow with each practice. 

I feel like someday my soul will thank me!

Want to learn more about yoga?

Lifelong learning

I've written before about my attempts at learning to play guitar. 

I haven't visited this topic in quite awhile, simply because I feel that I am a miserable guitar student, at best. That is not to say that I have not thoroughly enjoyed my dive into this pool of opportunity. I love the way that it challenges my brain and lights up a sense of learning that I have never experienced before. 

I attend my weekly guitar lesson, and now it is something that our 8-year-old son does with me. In our hectic schedules, we don't often find the time to have some quiet together. So now we find ourselves, once a week, trekking to lessons together. 

We will often talk about school or the books he's reading, or whether we like a certain song on the radio. Sometimes we drive in comfortable silence, me just enjoying having my not-so-little buddy alone in the car with me for a bit. He's doing a wonderful job learning to play, and far outpacing me as a student. It is rather humbling to have your 8-year-old show you up so handily! 

Lucky for me he doesn't read this blog, so this isn't a fact I'll be sharing with him anytime soon! My husband has taken his new skills to a different level, and has starting jamming with a couple of fellow friends. I played with them not so long ago, and it recharged my enthusiasm for learning to play! There is something energetic about playing with others, even if you are in the wrong key the entire time! But we ended the jam almost sounding, dare I say, mediocre! No, we are not booking any gigs soon, or even ever, but it was a fun way to put into practice all that I've been learning. 

My husband aspires to write his own song soon, this too will enhance his joy that he's found in playing guitar. I'm fortunate to have found this little hobby so enjoyable. It's enhanced my appreciation for music, and will continue to do so for years to come. Now, if I only practiced like I am supposed to, I might be able to play a recognizable tune! One thing at a time.

A Moving Tale

As Spring creeps ever closer, teasing us with temps inching towards 50, our family prepares for a big move into a new house. 

I've blogged in the past about our efforts to try to build a home, like the saying goes we "gave it the old college try." At this point in our lives a custom-built home is not in our immediate future. We ran into obstacle after obstacle, and after awhile it was time to start listening to what the cosmos were trying to tell us, and scrap the idea! 

After much time spent house hunting and weighing the pros and cons of one home vs. another, we chose a house we thought would best suit our family's needs and an offer was accepted! For the past few months we have been prepping ourselves for our move. 

As any of you readers know, moving is a dreaded chore to most. A few positives do exist, like the never-ending purge that seems to occur! How did we manage to accumulate so much STUFF? Wow, it is a bit amazing to think about all the things that have resided in our home for the past four years! But with that comes a duty to rid ourselves of the things we no longer use or want. Some have made it to local consignment shops, some to friends, some sold online, and a vast amount were donated. It is a very freeing feeling to shed some of the material weight we have been carrying. Of course, that means we are making way for a few new things that will be fun to purchase, but all in due time. 

For now, I must pack another box, carefully wrapping items in paper and labeling where each thing should go, or so I'd like to think. My version of reality is a bit different (think shoved into a container and thrown into the back of the truck and crossing fingers most things survive)! I've never claimed to be super organized, this is a true challenge for me. But somehow we will manage and the kids are very excited about new bedrooms, and a new neighborhood to explore. So while I pack another box, I'm focusing on the positives, a place to call our own will bring. I will be doing my best to make this experience as stress free as possible.

Let me know if you need any moving boxes as we will have plenty to spare in a few weeks!

What If...

What would you do if you suddenly won a pile of money? 

The Mega Millions lottery just reached it's third highest level ever, toppling the $400 million mark! The average American household earned just over $50,000 in 2011. 

It would take approximately 8,000 years to earn that amount of money! A tad longer than most of us are hanging around! My sister claims she wouldn't want that much money, she would not want the headache or responsibility! I told her I would gladly take that over for her. She might change her tune if she actually won! 

I will purchase an occasional ticket and for just a split second allow myself to imagine winning. Your world of opportunity could be endless, depending on how you would choose to live. But with this would come enormous responsibility, not only to try to stay true to yourself and those around you, but to give back. I have many fantasies about the things I could do with that amount of income, the ways I could donate and give to those who have so many needs. It would be a riot to just give to any cause or any person and have it actually make a difference! 

But do we really need millions to make a difference? Could we, the average $50,000 household give and have it impact someone? That answer is clearly yes. We could donate not only money but time or talent. 

I ate lunch with a group of kindergartners, and had several kids needing hugs. Still others simply wanted to tell a story and have someone listen. It didn't cost me a penny, I got to eat lunch and was entertained the entire time! But to that attention-starved kid, maybe I filled a need for a little while. So when I go fork over my dollar for the next chance to win unimaginable millions and wake up the next day to find out it wasn't me who won, I'll remind myself of other ways to win and give back. Those kindergartners might be seeing me a tad more often!

Room to Grow

While coming up with topics to address for the Balance Your 7 Blog, the category I tend to struggle with the most tends to be Spirituality. It's not because I'm not aware of the aspects found within this topic according to the Balance Your 7 website :

Spiritual wellness: Search for meaning and purpose, actions match your values and morals, find peace and harmony.

• Explore your individual spirituality
• Spend time alone
• Meditate
• Be tolerant of different beliefs
• Keep a clear sense of right and wrong

I try to incorporate most of this in my daily routine, although meditate is something I need to strive to do more often. What I struggle with is how to grow within this category. I try to find meaning in my daily interactions with people, yet I should reflect more on what those are and try to do this daily. I have an opportunity to spend alone time, and try to find minutes of solitude. Some days are easier than others. As a family, we have found a place of worship that we feel comfortable attending, but we have chosen not to make this a priority in our lives at present, a decision both my husband and I agreed to. I read the occasional book related to growing in spirit. One I've just started is called The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. It's not the type of book I usually read, but it came recommended and might lead to some new personal insights or a fun discussion.

So at this time, I feel like this is an area that I can grow into. 

If given more time in my week, I would really like to look into having our dog become certified for the pet therapy program in town. If this were to happen, the two of us could visit local hospitals, nursing homes and schools. I've been witness to the comfort and joy that a therapy dogs brings to people in critical situations. They visibly relax and shed their troubles, if only for a short period of time. Our local Humane Society offers the necessary training to have your dog qualify for this program. I feel that not only would he benefit from interaction with others in new situations, but I would truly enjoy the experience. It would be a way to share the joy my dog has brought to our family, and what a wonderful way to get out into the community. Now to take a deep breath, and find the time to make this goal happen! I know that as person in need of spiritual growth, this would be a great seed to sow!