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Happy Mother’s Day!

Today, I want to wish a Happy Mother’s Day to everyone who is – or has been – important to a child… To the ones who gave birth to them and raised them – which is often, but not always, the same person. To the ones who nurtured, educated, and inspired them. To the ones who stepped in and took over when Mom needed a break, or had to go back to work. To the ones who never had kids [...]

By |May 8th, 2022|Columns, Family, Holidays, Making a Difference, Values|

A Leading Question

The graduation ceremony for my Putnam Leadership class was last week. No ”Pomp and Circumstance” or caps and gowns, but it included speeches by the leaders of the program, announcements of our activities and achievements, and presentation of our graduation certificates. Plus a nice dinner and a gift bag. In addition to the graduates and instructors, several city and county officials attended the event. I always find occasions such as this to be bittersweet, representing both an ending and a [...]

Together Again!

I spent the weekend in Duluth – Georgia, not Minnesota – attending a Toastmasters District Conference. It was our first live conference since Spring of 2019, and it felt wonderful to be there again, live and in person. Numerous safety measures were in place, including mask and social distancing rules and recommendations, and a requirement for proof of a negative COVID test taken 24 hours before the start of the Conference. A testing station was set up near the registration [...]

Easter Memories

When I was very young, Easter Sunday meant walking up the hill to church for morning Mass, wearing a pretty dress and hat, white gloves, and ruffled anklets. Later in the afternoon would be a traditional Easter meal – sometimes at our house but usually at Grandma and Grandpa’s. Following that would be a few chocolate treats and marshmallow Peeps from our Easter baskets – especially welcome after having gone without candy of any kind all through Lent. When my [...]

By |April 17th, 2022|Columns, Faith, Family, Holidays|

Where would you hang out?

When we lived in Minnesota, my sister and I used to visit the Minneapolis Farmers Market almost every spring. We have very different tastes and interests, so one of us would linger at a booth the other would barely glance at. We’d often pass each other up, and meet at the end of the aisle. While my sister spent time looking at flowers, I would be checking out herbs and veggies. She liked garden decorations and knick-knacks. I preferred kitchen [...]

By |April 10th, 2022|Columns, Family, Values|

A Reason to Celebrate

For those of you who aren’t aware of this, April is National Poetry Month. I know this because a friend of mine is a poet and celebrates it every year, and also because Georgia Writers Museum always has poetry-related events during April, whether it’s an open mic night for poetry readings, a “Meet the Author” event featuring published poets, or a contest for students asking them to write a poem – or submit their favorite poem, along with a paragraph [...]

By |April 3rd, 2022|Columns, Toastmasters, Writing|