Features

It’s official. Parenting is difficult. So much so that U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has issued an advisory about the stress and mental health issues parenting creates. Parenting joins social media for children, health care worker burnout and firearm violence as issues the Department of Health and Human Services felt it needed to formally address.

About eight years ago, DeeDee Moore realized with her first grandchild how much has changed for modern parents, who track new research on child safety and development. In 2019, she created More Than Grand, a blog to help educate new grandparents about changes in parenting approaches, while giving tips to help elders strengthen bonds with grandchildren and both parents.

Mallory Murphy Viscardi has made mistake after mistake in the garden. She’s overwatered. She planted a fig tree right next to her home, and its roots snaked under the patio. She sowed superspreading mint directly in the ground, so “every spring, the mint just laughs and laughs as it comes back” while she wrestles to contain its voracious, unwanted creep. She placed her vegetable garden in her dog’s favorite bathroom spot.

It was all Jenna Sutton could do to round up 3-year-old Henry as he raced through the new meadow garden at the Spokane Public Library’s Indian Trail branch on a recent – and hot – afternoon. Mom and son had visited the library and were off to other errands but not without a detour through the garden first.

I’m helping my son on the weekends to finish the basement in his 3-year-old house. He’ll be adding 1,300 square feet of finished living space. A few days ago, we met with the local building inspector. Donna gave us the thumbs up on the framing, plumbing and all the electrical rough installations. She’s been doing inspections in Nashua, New Hampshire, for 18 years.

Spokane-area residents can learn more about their health risks for cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis or diabetes through Life Line Screening events this month through Sept. 25. A screening package starts at $159, designed for people ages 40 and older, but it can be arranged based on age and risk factors. The company requires pre-registration.

Hydrangeas are the showy stars of the late-summer garden.