'It Takes A Village' for Nursing Bartender at Rosie's

It never occurred to Rosie's Tavern bartender Dawn Carney Catacchio not to nurse her newborn daughter. And with lots of help from the Rosie's sisterhood, Catacchio is able to make it happen.

New visitors at Rosie’s Tavern would never know the careful choreography behind their bartender's break schedule. "It's not like I'm taking a 20-minute smoke break," Dawn Catacchio, 36, joked while tending bar on a recent Tuesday afternoon. Catacchio actually carefully schedules her breaks so she can slip into the storage closet for much-needed "BR," or breast relief. "You have to have a sense of humor about it," she said. Owner Julie Brown said that although she has no kids of her own, it was a "no-brainer" to ensure Catacchio, a first-time mother, had a private, quiet place to use a breast pump to nurse when she returned from maternity leave. "It just happened so naturally," Brown explained. "It was just a no-brainer. When you got a good…

•  4 Comments
• Photos (2)

Pen Name Jane

Seeking Comfort in Food Is as Natural as Mother's Milk

Our fast-food-obsessed nation should address the underlying causes of obesity, not make those who eat for comfort feel guilty.

Maybe I was watching too much Oprah, but it seemed like, over and over again, I kept hearing it: Obese people saying they became so large because they used food to comfort themselves. I felt like it was being chanted, by a very large chorus, “Food was my comfort. Food was my comfort.” But I use food to comfort myself. After my first child was born, I would survive until he went to bed. Then I would make my treat, my simple delicious treat: warm-from-the-oven chocolate chip cookies. It was an obsession. I would wait impatiently for them to cook. When my cookies were finally done, I would sit on the couch and slowly eat each one, savoring every bite. It was a beautiful ritual. As my children got older, my drug of choice would change — …

•  5 Comments
• Photos (1)