How I Learned About Homemaking From a Couple of Birds
I've never had much of a sense of home. Before the age of 21, I'd moved house roughly 20 times, from the army base in West Germany where I was born to YMCA housing in southern England in my late teens. My itinerant childhood gave me itchy feet as an adult. Wherever I landed, I'd soon feel pulled toward the next place, and then the next.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fast Company
4 hours ago
- Fast Company
Leaders with emotional intelligence use these short phrases to become exceptional at work
BY Listen to this Article More info 0:00 / 3:32 What if the way you handle emotions—yours and others'—is the difference between leading well and missing the mark? Well, that's where emotional intelligence comes in. But what if you had insight into saying the right things at the right moment to build stronger connections in the process? Would that be a gamne changer for you? Emotional intelligence shows up in the way we talk to people, especially when things get tense, uncertain, or emotional. Choosing your words with the skills of EQ It's not about being perfect or having all the answers. It's about being aware of what you're feeling, paying attention to how others are doing, and choosing words that connect instead of shut things down. Hard to do for some, I know, but if you're leading a team, the way you communicate can either build trust or quietly erode it. Here are five core emotional intelligence skills—each with practical ways to show them through simple, everyday phrases you can start practicing today. 1. What to say to display empathy Empathy means showing people you see what they're going through. You don't have to solve their problem or offer advice. Just saying something like 'That sounds really tough. Want to talk about it?' or 'I get why this would be frustrating' tells someone they're not alone. These small moments help people feel understood—and that matters more than we often realize. 2. What to say to show self-awareness This crucial EQ skill is about noticing your own reactions and being honest about what's behind them. If you've snapped at someone or feel off, it can sound like 'I've been a bit distracted today—there's a lot on my plate.' Or 'That topic gets under my skin, and I'm working on that.' Here's the thing: owning your emotions doesn't make you weak; it makes you real. And real earns respect. 3. What to say to show emotional regulation The skill of emotional regularion is staying steady when emotions run high. It's not about shutting down feelings; it's about not letting them run the show. You might say, 'I want to respond thoughtfully, so I'm going to take a minute,' or 'Let's revisit this tomorrow when we've both had time to think.' That pause gives space for better conversations and fewer regrets. 4. What to say to display relationship management This is using emotional awareness to navigate conversations in a way that keeps people connected, even when you disagree. It sounds like 'I want us to be on the same page—can we talk this through?' or 'I appreciate your perspective. Let's figure out how to move forward together. ' It's about making it clear that the relationship matters as much as the issue at hand. 5. What to say to show active listening Yes, this is definetely a skill of emotional intelligence. It's more than nodding while you wait your turn to talk. When someone's sharing something important, phrases like 'So what I'm hearing is…' or 'Tell me more about what's behind that' show you're actually engaged. People can tell when you're really listening and it builds trust faster than anything else. — By Marcel Schwantes
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Oxford leisure centres offering free week-long trial to some residents
Some Oxfordshire residents are being offered a seven-day free trial at Oxford's leisure centres. The offer applies to Oxford City Council's three leisure centres - Barton Leisure Centre, Leys Pools and Leisure Centre, and Ferry Leisure Centre. It is available for people living in areas that may become part of the proposed Greater Oxford Council, which includes Berinsfield, Botley, Kennington, Kidlington, and Wheatley. Councillor Susan Brown, leader of Oxford City Council, said: "We believe Oxford has the best leisure offer in the region. Councillor Susan Brown, leader of Oxford City Council (Image: Oxford City Council) "There's a huge range of activities available – from gyms and swimming pools in our leisure centres to dance and exercise classes in our community centres. "We're proposing a new council for Oxford and its surrounding villages, and we want residents of those villages to experience Oxford's leisure offer now. "Take advantage of the free seven-day trial – and have your say on the Greater Oxford proposals by filling in the online survey." The trial comes after the government asked councils across England for proposals on simplifying the structure of local government in their regions. Oxford City Council has suggested replacing Oxfordshire's six councils with three new authorities - Greater Oxford Council, Northern Oxfordshire Council, and Ridgeway Council. Greater Oxford Council would cover Oxford and its Green Belt, Northern Oxfordshire Council would cover most of the existing Cherwell and West Oxfordshire districts, and Ridgeway Council would cover most of the existing South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse districts, combined with the existing West Berkshire unitary. The city council says all three councils would have natural geographic and demographic connections, local accountability to residents, and would be viable under the government's plans. Currently, only Oxford residents are eligible for the city council's community services, which include free swimming for under-17s, youth activities through the Oxford Youth Ambition programme, and discounted leisure centre memberships for individuals on qualifying benefits. Under the reorganisation plans, these services could be extended to all Greater Oxford residents, potentially including leisure centres in Berinsfield, Kidlington, and Wheatley. The leisure centres are operated by More Leisure and offer gyms, swimming pools, and a variety of fitness programmes. To take part in the free trial, residents can book online at Oxford City Council has also launched an online survey to gather feedback on the Greater Oxford Council proposals before submitting its final proposal to the government in November. The survey, which takes around 10 minutes to complete, is available on the council's consultation portal and will close on August 12. More information about the Greater Oxford proposals can be found on the dedicated Greater Oxford website.
Gizmodo
7 hours ago
- Gizmodo
Zoo Asks Visitors to Donate Their Pets to Feed the Carnivores, Gets Fed to the Lions on Social Media
A zoo in Denmark has made an unusual request: if you feel like it, send us your pets so we can keep our lovely predator population well-fed. As one would expect, there's been a bit of public outcry over the 'Chickens, rabbits and guinea pigs form an important part of the diet of our predators,' the zoo said, in a Facebook post, noting that such animals are 'reminiscent of what' predators would 'naturally hunt in nature.' It added: 'In zoos, we have a responsibility to emulate the animal's natural food chain – for both animal welfare and professional integrity.' 'If you have a healthy animal that has to leave here for various reasons, feel free to donate it to us,' it added. 'We ensure natural behavior, nutrition and well-being of our predators.' If potential donors are concerned about their loved ones meeting a violent end, the zoo has some gentle words of reassurance: 'The animals are gently killed by trained staff and are then used as feed. In this way, nothing is wasted – and we ensure natural behavior, nutrition and well-being of our predators.' Oh good. The zoo had previously made a similar appeal to the public, asking that horses (another notably beloved category of animal) be donated to the zoo so that they could be euthanized and fed to the facility's predator population. The online outrage was, of course, swift and merciless. The FB post's comment section is alive with alarmed web users. 'A deeply perverse and degrading mindset,' one user said (translated from Danish). 'How sick are you to think of something like that,' another asked. 'This is a joke right, no one would bring his healthy pet to a zoo so they can kill it and feed it to there animals,' yet another person ventured. The zoo was predictably forced to address the outrage. 'After great international interest, we have chosen to close the comment track on this lookup,' the facility hilariously said, in an edit to the post. 'We understand that the call arouses emotion and interest, but hateful and vicious rhetoric is not necessary – and we urge to maintain the good tone. We elaborate and answer questions in the inbox or by mail.' Gizmodo reached out to Aalborg Zoo for more information on this unusual policy and will update our story if they respond. It may be the case that people who work in a particular industry for awhile forget what the 'normies' on the outside are like. If you get used to seeing a cute, fluffy bunny eviscerated by a giant mouth every day, it may become tempting to assume that everybody is used to such a sight. At the very least, Aalborg's FB post is clear evidence that zoo people aren't necessarily pet people. If they had been, they would have realized that there is little in this world that they could have said that would have perturbed the intended audience more. They might as well have been encouraging visitors to donate their own human children as tiger bait.
