That's a picture of me and my nearly-six-year-old daughter, drawn by same. It's the most common theme of her prolific artwork: pictures of me and Mommy. And each one is lovingly inscribed: "to mommy". Most days I enjoy the tributes, give them a few days on the fridge honour roll, and then help them find their way into the recycling.This one, though, I haven't got my hands on yet. That's because I'm far away from my little girls, helping my Dad and sisters with our round-the-clock hospital visits with my Mom. Please don't get me wrong: I wouldn't dream... More »

In my family, I tend to be the creative one...you know, the one who's into crafts and baking, knitting and sewing; sometimes even sketching or painting. My sisters' hobbies definitely don't wander to the crafty, and although my Mom once made me a lovely painted piggy-bank at a ceramics class, and she often sewed and knit things for us, I don't think she'd classify herself as crafty either. My kids, on the other hand, think that "making a craft" is just about the best activity ever. Yesterday my oldest daughter and I went for a "nature walk" and she collected... More »