Today my heart is heavy thinking about the tornado disaster in Oklahoma. I did not want to write about this, but here it is. So much destruction and loss and heartache. I see the pictures, but I know they offer a small glimpse of the reality of what those people are going through. How can our brains wrap around such devastation?

This morning I was thankful to have my family around me. And I drove down the street, thankful for buildings in their proper places and power lines up where they belong.

Kids love animals. My children are fortunate to live in a family that has two dogs and four hermit crabs. We have also temporarily cared for a variety of lizards, snakes, frogs, caterpillars, and such. We are definitely animal-friendly at our house.

And yet my kids want more. They continually ask for more pets of different kinds. Birds, lizards, fish, mice, anything. Instead of being content with our current critters, my children yearn for more.

Submitted by Lisa A. Yackel, CVPM,PHR

Hospital Administrator at Case Veterinary Hospital

Yesterday afternoon my boys were playing together with little plastic army men. The trouble was that my 7-year-old was not playing very nicely or fairly with his little brother, which did not make my little guy too happy, to say the least.