Kristan Shimpi
About the author
About the author
About the author
Kristan lives outside of Charleston, South Carolina with her husband of over 20 years. They recently became empty nest parents when both of their children headed off to college.
After earning Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction, Kristan co-developed an academic support skills curriculum at the Duke Child and Family Study Center.
More rece
Kristan lives outside of Charleston, South Carolina with her husband of over 20 years. They recently became empty nest parents when both of their children headed off to college.
After earning Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction, Kristan co-developed an academic support skills curriculum at the Duke Child and Family Study Center.
More recently, Kristan published a book about teaching problem solving skills to young girls. Her special interests include helping parents manage challenging home and school behaviors and teaching girls of all ages self-awareness and self-advocacy skills.
Smooch served as her loyal executive assistant for almost 7 years.
Book summary
About the author
About the author
In 2013, I turned 40. I was a parent of two school age children, and the husband and I were trying to decide if our family was complete. We could never get on the same page about more children. I would be ready, and he would be on the fence. Then he would be ready, and I would be unsure. One thing we did agree on was that we both needed t
In 2013, I turned 40. I was a parent of two school age children, and the husband and I were trying to decide if our family was complete. We could never get on the same page about more children. I would be ready, and he would be on the fence. Then he would be ready, and I would be unsure. One thing we did agree on was that we both needed to be on board. After all, with a third child, we would officially be out numbered.
Even though we could not decide on more children, I had a strong desire to nurture. So in a six-month time span, I collected four chickens, two cats, and a puppy named Smooch. Her name was pretty self-explanatory. Her tongue was so big it did not fit into her mouth, and she used that tongue to smooch everyone she met.
Smooch was a Bullmastiff, a breed that was supposed to be calm, not needing a lot of exercise, and really easy to train. Smooch was the total opposite. She was 100% love and 100% not a good listener. She taught our family that love can be all accepting and unconditional.
This book includes anecdotes of Smooch’s life with us. It was not a long life, but it was full of so many adventures and memories that I will cherish forever.