It’s been a tough week down here in the good ol’ You Ess of Eh. This ain’t a political/current events blog, so I’m not going to go into gun control and the ever-ratcheting hatred and my waffling between despair and learned helplessness.

But Jesus, some days it’s a bit much.

When faced with similar feelings, Mother Teresa said, “What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family.”

So I’ve been loving hard this week. I’ve held these munchkins so close that they’ve squirmed. Fortunately, they’re still young enough that they hug back, so it’s not an entirely thankless job.

(An aside: I had no idea how amazing working at home over summer vacation could be. They sleep the morning away and spend the afternoon doing their own thing, but it’s all punctuated by random snuggles and stretchy, long children somehow still finding room on mama’s lap as they happen to pass by.)

Another thing that promotes world peace?

Cats.

Specifically, videos about cats.

Enjoyed in community and solidarity and with a sold-out theater of people who think that the happiest way to spend their Saturday night is with other like-minded folks laughing at cats.

(The Girl went purple-gray – cute, yes? Alas, The Husband missed getting our matching cat tank tops in the pic. Too bad. My cats are riding pizzas.)

It was hil-HAIR-balls. Oh, I do love me some cats beating up on each other and beating up on their humans and being all around awesome.

Honestly, it’s hard to think of a better panacea for times of sadness than cat videos. With your family beside you, loving each other and laughing at cats.

Speaking of cats, let me introduce you to our friend! Meet Emmett:

Emmett technically belongs to our neighbours. But even though they feed and house him, he still wanders over now and again for pets. He waits by the door for The Girl:

And when I see him, I yell in to her that Emmett is here to see her (because he loves her the best) and she comes running:

And, because what the world needs now is love, sweet love, let’s throw in some Father’s Day love, shall we? Here’s how The Husband spent his Father’s Day – being the best dad ever:

Teaching The Boy how to skate backwards!

The Boy is halfway through two weeks straight of evening hockey camp and The Husband is being a total champ about it. Every night, they grab the equipment and head out. And when there’s extracurricular effort required to bump up some of the skills, The Husband cheerfully finds some ice time and gives up his Sunday afternoon to teach backwards crossovers.

OK: cats, love, hockey. I’m feeling better already.