The “cone of shame” is just one aspect of a dog’s indignity at a certain key developmental stage.

When the older siblings grow up and go away, it’s as if parents remember that their youngest is a real and somewhat interesting individual also.

Modern technology is simply mind-boggling, but especially for those of us born before the digital age. So much of today’s world seems to operate magically in a vague, invisible ether.

As a busy military wife and mother of three, I’ve adopted a no-nonsense approach involving direct and informal use of words, with plenty of colloquialisms thrown in.

Olympic viewers fall into two categories: Those who are purely in awe of Olympic athletes’ extreme athleticism, persistent dedication and extraordinary talents. And, those viewers who watch with a twinge of narcissistic satisfaction, believing that they closely identify with Olympic athletes due to their own nebulous past involvement in sports.

We always believed that, through all the military-required moves, our children would build strength, character, worldliness and resilience, and for the most part, they did. What we didn’t know was that all that instability during adolescence would leave our son and daughters with some unwanted baggage as young adults.

As I’d done with our last two family dogs, I’d intended to train our 16-month-old Labrador Retriever myself. But unlike those dogs, Gilly thought the noises coming out of my mouth weren’t commands to which he must submit, but rather, challenges that upped the ante.

I yearned to be a real sailor someday. However, like most military spouses, my dreams came secondary to military life.

Visiting a grown child’s chosen university can seem like entering a different world -- and in many ways, it is.

There’s not much to do in a small town on a summer night, but we were determined to find excitement somewhere, somehow.