topics, lazy language, and other

i write about many things in this blog.
Topics.
We tend to call anything a "thing."
But in modern English "thing" is a dehuminizing term, and i do write about people.

The other day, i was telling someone that i blog about "my son and other things," and it had a nasty sound to me.
Max is not a thing.  i often have no clue what's going on in his mind, but he is very definitely a person.  He always knows what he wants & thinks.  It's just the sharing of it that's the problem.

the dog's thoughts
are often easier to read than Max's