I have lived in my home for 14 years. It’s the longest I’ve lived anywhere since I left home for college. The good news is I have the luxury of feeling settled in my home. The bad news is so does all of the stuff that has accumulated in 14 years.

This column is called Hissy Fit because it’s about things that bother me or make me mad. No one has made me mad. Well, they have, I’m just not writing about them…yet. What has me in a tizzy this month is stuff. To be exact: Too. Much. Stuff. I’m talking about clutter, piles, stashes, heaps and massive amounts of shhh…stuff. They are total energy suckers!

By the time you read this, my baby girl will have graduated from high school—a bittersweet phase of life for both of us. On her last day of school, she came home weepy. I thought it insightful, as she explained through tears, that she will never be able to live life like this again. Her words, “Mom, the reality of the last day of school is a quick cure for senioritis.”

For me, reality has already set in. The fact that this smiling child, who I still see as my precious angel, will be leaving in a mere 10 weeks and life will never be the same. It’s a moment most mothers dread and are never truly prepared for—me included.

We have all bought into the pet shaming trend, mainly because it’s cute and makes us laugh, but also because we all can relate. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, pet shaming is hanging a sign around your pet’s neck that states what he has done bad, snapping a digital pic and posting it for the world to see. My favorite is of the little pug (which are comical just to look at anyway) whose sign reads, “I ate a box of crayons and pooped rainbows.” No wonder it went viral—it cracks me up every time. Plus, he just looks so sweet, innocent and constipated.

Like many, I have wasted time being entertained by pet shaming photos. I guess if it makes you laugh, it’s not a waste of time. However, I think all the laughing would stop if we started doing the same thing to humans. But, maybe not. Maybe we could look at other’s shortcomings, see ourselves doing the same thing and actually get relief that we are not alone in our craziness.

““Connection is the energy that is created
between people when they feel seen,
heard and valued—when they can give
and receive without judgment.”
—Brené Brown

It has taken me a few months to thaw from my winter doldrums. It seems they had me in a deep freeze this year. However, since my awakening with the longer, lighter days and breezes filled with promises of sunshine, one theme keeps repeating itself in my life like a mantra on a broken record: Connection.