INPUT ARTICLE: Article: This is vital to developing empathy. Browse some websites that talk about ADD or ADHD. Get pamphlets from a local therapist's office. You can ask your boyfriend to refer you to reading materials, as he may know great places to read up on the conditions. People with ADD/ADHD may struggle to pay attention. Your boyfriend may zone out during conversations, for example, or struggle to sit still through a movie. People with ADD/ADHD may also be forgetful. If your boyfriend got the time wrong for a dinner date, he may have been listening to you earlier. He simply forgot the information. ADD and ADHD may cause poor organizational skills, so if you clean up after your boyfriend a lot, that's not necessarily because he's being rude. He just may struggle to keep up. People with ADD and ADHD may be more emotional and impulsive. Your boyfriend may suddenly blurt things out and may have a slight temper. It may be difficult to have a calm conversation with someone with ADD or ADHD. Talking with your boyfriend and asking him questions about his experiences with ADD or ADHD can also help you to gain valuable perspective. Some questions you might ask him to get a better sense of how ADD or ADHD affects him include: What is hardest about living with ADHD? Does it ever affect your emotions? Do you take medication? If so, how does the medication make you feel? Is there anything I can do to help? This is important to understanding your boyfriend's experience. When your boyfriend is frustrating you, pause for a second and consider his perspective. It is difficult to live with ADHD or ADD day in and day out. If your boyfriend is frustrating you, imagine how frustrated he must feel at himself. For example, you're angry because your boyfriend could not get out the door in time for a movie as he kept getting distracted along the way. While this is frustrating for you, think how your boyfriend must feel. He probably feels mad at himself for letting you down, and frustrated he's unable to manage his symptoms well enough for a simple movie date. You were probably drawn to your boyfriend for a reason. He is not completely defined by his ADD/ADHD. Try to remember why you like being with him when things get frustrating. Try making a mental list of everything you like about your boyfriend. Does he always make you laugh? Is he more tolerant of your grouchiness after work? Does he do nice things for you, like bring you coffee in the morning? If you remember why you're in the relationship, this can quell any feelings of resentment you have. You will be able to feel more empathetic for someone if you remember why you value them. Resentment can build up if you do not communicate regularly. Resentment can destroy empathy, so if something's bothering you, discuss it. Never make assumptions during a conversation. You do not understand why someone behaved the way they did without asking. Do not say, "You just don't care, which is why you never remember to take out the garbage. It's disrespectful." Instead, say, "Is there a reason you're having trouble remembering to take out the garbage?" When your boyfriend talks, listen actively. Do not interrupt. If you need clarification, wait until your boyfriend's done talking and say something like, "I'm not entirely sure what you mean. Could you explain more?" Also, remember to laugh. Miscommunications are inevitable, and facing them with good humor can help reduce tension. If you're in a relationship with someone with ADD/ADHD, a lot of this person's actions can be read the wrong way. If your boyfriend interrupts you in mid-sentence, you may think he's not interested in what you have to say. If your boyfriend is 15 minutes late to a date, you may think he does not care about your time. These are symptoms of ADD/ADHD and do not necessarily speak to your boyfriend's character. It can take a long time for symptoms to be managed properly. There will be struggles along the way. In moments of frustration, say to yourself, "This is his ADHD. This is not him." Remember, you're with this person for a reason. If he's struggling to manage his ADHD/ADD at the moment, this is not a permanent situation. Once symptoms are more under control, you'll be able to focus more on his good qualities.

SUMMARY: Learn about the condition. Ask your boyfriend about his experiences. Put yourself in your boyfriend's shoes when you feel frustrated. Keep the positives in mind. Remember to communicate. Separate the symptoms from the person.

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Sow grass and plant trees, shrubs and other greenery in bare spots in your yard or garden. The foliage will absorb excess water and protect the topsoil from the impact of rain, heavy wind and foot traffic. The roots of the plants will also help anchor the soil once they take hold, safeguarding the soil beneath from water runoff. Grass and plant roots also serve to draw nutrients from deep in the soil closer to the surface, improving the healthiness of the topsoil. Ryegrass and clover make excellent choices for basic groundcover, as their roots spread deep and hold fast. Other useful anchoring plants include grains such as wheat, barley, and rye and crops of root vegetables like radishes. If you have a field or flat, wide open space on your property, considering growing a row of trees to act as a barrier from the wind. This is known as a windbreak cover and is an efficient means of combating wind erosion often employed by landscapers. A windbreak cover will cut down on the amount of wind that sweeps an open area of land, keeping topsoil from being scattered and dried out. For best results, group trees or shrubs relatively close together so that little space exists between them for wind to penetrate. Choose tree species that develop thick foliage, like Eastern Red Cedar, Lombardy Poplar, and Red Pine. Look for areas where the ground is hard and bare. This is most often a symptom of compacted soil. Sew grass in these areas, and be sure to water and aerate the soil frequently. If not remedied, the soil below can become even more dense while the top layer erodes, making growing conditions inhospitable. When soil becomes compacted, its particles are pressed tightly together so that water cannot penetrate deep into its sublayers, causing the uppermost layers of soil to be worn away by runoff. In addition, soil compaction causes aeration problems within soil, meaning that it's less likely that you'll be able to get things to grow in places where the soil is badly compacted. Be careful about habitually walking in the same places if the soil in your yard or garden is compacted; this will just make the problem worse. Choose a new footpath to take, or stand on a broad, flat board when gardening to keep your body weight from contributing to soil compaction. Building a no-dig garden involves layering materials over the topsoil in which plants and crops can be planted so that there's no need to disturb the soil itself. When gardening is done above the soil instead of within it, the soil will not be exposed to lots of harsh digging and watering that can damage soil and lead to erosion. Create multiple no-dig plots to serve as flower beds or patches for growing crops that require similar soil conditions. A wealth of different planting schemes exist, but all make use of the same basic structure: multiple tiers of compostable matter are layered over a permeable surface like cardboard directly on top of the ground. Look into different ideas for constructing your own no-dig garden. During peak growing season, spread a thin layer of mulch around the base of thriving plants. The weight of the mulch will keep the soil from being exposed to wind and water while also preserving important nutrients and moisture in the soil at root-level. Mulch can be bought cheap at any gardening center, or you can easily make your own at home by feeding scrap wood, live foliage and decaying plant matter into a shredder to form a composite.

SUMMARY:
Plant grass and trees to secure topsoil. Grow windbreak cover for fields. Avoid compacting soil. Employ no-digging gardening techniques. Spread mulch over growing plants.