Preparing To Go Home, and Some Links

Tomorrow I'm flying back to Michigan to be with my family. It's been a weird few days here in Sweden, being so far removed from my childhood home, my mother and brother, our extended family and our friends. I've had to continue on with life as normal here, even with a heavy heart. I've felt as though my grieving has been on pause as I wait to go back to Kalamazoo.

While James will join me next week with the kids (kudos to him for taking an international flight with two kids under four!), this is the longest I will have ever been away from them (I have only been away one other time, just for one night, for a funeral a couple weeks ago). I'm a little bit anxious about this, even though I know they will be fine without me for a few days.

I've lined up a few great posts by some talented friends, and I'm so excited to share their words and images with you over the next two weeks. I'll also be posting a couple times, so please keep checking in with Dear Sabrina to find out what's new.

In the meantime, here are some things around the Internet you might be interested in.

Pneumonia is the world's deadliest disease against children. So why did one of the most important health NGOs in the world reject Pfizer's offer of free vaccines against it?  Read this eye-opening piece by Jason Cone, Doctors Without Borders's Executive Director in the United States.

From The Ugly Volvo, one of my favorite blogs, this piece. "I am not even sure how to become a good mom.  BUT, I tell people—if you’d like to focus on the positive for a moment– I am a great dad."

We often try to focus on raising "colorblind" children, but I like this approach to raising race-conscious children. "Some parents will say, “I don’t want to mention that someone’s black,” and I say, “Black people aren’t upset that they’re black.” I think it’s important to dispel that idea."

Some science fun: scientists reveal the most accurate depiction of a dinosaur ever created.

Amen. Not that I go to parties anymore (except children's birthday parties), but we all encounter this, all too often. "At that point, having not fielded a single enquiry about myself, I began to feel a bit huffy, and baffled that anyone could talk to another person for so long without experiencing a twinge of human interest in who they might be."

The remedy. (I can think of a number of people I wish I were brave enough to send this to.)

Have you read anything good this week? Please share the link in the comments!

Photo by Evan Batky.

Looking for more good stuff on the 'Nets? Try Friday Fun: the Bump, and Would You Stay at the Ice Hotel?