Quitting my TV news career has come with many benefits but perhaps none as important as how it has affected my ability to parent. My relationship with the Producer would have consisted of about an hour in the morning (stressed about what I’d cover that day) and an hour at night (still stressed about what went wrong with my report that day). I’ve started “Hold On to Your Kids” by Gordon Neufeld and Gabor Maté and I highly recommend it. They describe the era since World War II as one where peers have taken over the role of parenting, calling it “peer orientation”. They write, “Orientation, the drive to get one’s bearings and become acquainted with one’s surroundings, is a fundamental human instinct and need. Disorientation is one of the least bearable of all psychological experiences. Attachment and orientation are inextricably intertwined. Humans and other creatures automatically orient themselves by seeking cues from those to whom they are attached.” This has also got me thinking about my pressing question about why so many journalists prefer group think over curiosity. Are we adults also suffering from “peer orientation”?
Chickens have been the best farm investment. They are easy keepers, lay eggs you can eat, and babysit your kids. Make 2026 the year you get your kids chickens. You will not regret it.
My grandfather, John Morrow, used to say, “Going to church on Easter and drinking on New Year’s is for amateurs.” I think the last time I went out on New Year’s Eve was a decade ago. So raise that glass of raw milk and enjoy some rest! I’ll be asleep before it’s even 2026 in China. I wish you all peace and joy in the year to come. G’NIGHT!! ✌🏼
We have been playing electric fence whack-a-mole with the cows, especially “mommy cow”, who appears to be the ring leader of the fence jumping mafia. She either has a very high pain tolerance or the hot wire we just installed isn’t working. I watched as she ducked under the wire and pushed down the metal fencing so she could help herself to our backyard grass - and a recycling container filled with old hay.
