Cats

(Yesterday, I said I was going to talk about kittens today. In fact, I want to talk about grown-up kittens.)

A few days ago, we dropped our youngest son off at college. He's in a small dorm (probably less than 50 people) and they have a cat! That made me happy. We had cats in my dorm during college, and they really helped me deal with the stresses of a challenging academic environment.

Good architecture matters. Dormitories based on long rows of cramped apartments are absurd. We can do better. Living in small settings with other folks who who've just become adults, learning how to cook for yourself and share responsibilities for keeping the kitchen clean, these things just feel so much more healthy. Having pets (and caring for them) seems like part of the same package.

We don't help our youth become adults by continuing to treat them as if they are children.