Throughout my studies in public health I am constantly being introduced to new and interesting perspectives on the health of communities, as well as all the influences that can undermine our well-being. Right now I am taking a course on the behavioral and biological impacts of stress. Stress is integrally related to our health – not just affecting our mood or our sleep – but working at the basic...
Last Christmas it was apparent that our then-9-year-old son still believed in Santa. I wondered if it could still be the case, but he was completely into our usual tradition of leaving cookies and milk for Santa. And at bedtime he once again set up his iPod in the family room – video running – to try to catch Santa coming down the chimney! Now I thought this was cute, but my husband was kind...
I am currently about halfway through completion of my Masters in Public Health and I am fascinated and motivated by everything I am learning and doing in the program. According to the website What is Public Health?, this discipline is “the science of protecting and improving the health of communities through education, promotion of healthy lifestyles, and research for disease and injury prevention.”...
When I had my son – a decade ago now! – I knew nothing about babies and children. I was an only child growing up and my cousins lived spread out across the vastness of Western Canada. Dealing with a new baby was terrifying and I sought out all sorts of information from (hopefully) reliable guides and experts. So much so that a friend of mine dubbed me the “book mom.” However, over the early...
This summer I decided I wanted to recreate my childhood camping experiences for my 10-year old son, Elliott. We had “camped” before – but only for a couple of days and never far from home…nothing like the weeks at a lake in the wilds of northern Canada I had known in my youth. So in late July, after stocking up on essential camping gear, we headed several hours north to Traverse Bay, Michigan...
