The first order of business this week is for me to let you know when you can watch the episode of “It’s a Woman’s World” that I mentioned in a column a few weeks ago. I was one of three writers on the panel that day, and in addition to discussing writing issues and attitudes, we each read an excerpt of our recent work. I read one of my Villager columns. If you’re in the metro area of the Twin Cities, you can see the [...]
“Finding the Treasure in Our Gifts from God.” That was the title of my speaking program in Uganda this year, and it’s one I’ve been invited to present several times since coming back to the States. Part of the program focuses on our talents and traits – the skills and abilities that come naturally to us that we don’t always appreciate and sometimes don’t even realize that we have. Another part of the program calls attention to the gifts that are all around us – [...]
I’m always amazed when I see, for the first time, something that was right in front of me all along. Sometimes I even have to laugh at the irony. Such was the case a few years ago with a coffee mug I had owned and been using for several years before that. On the mug is a picture of a scene from nature – snow-capped mountains alongside a forest of deep green pine trees, and the rushing waters of a flowing river lined by rugged [...]
“Quiet on the set!” Yes, they really do say that. At least, they did last Sunday when I was in St. Paul for a taping of the show, “It’s a Woman’s World” for SPNN – the St. Paul Neighborhood Network. But they – meaning the producer of the show – said it just once, when two of the people in the room were having a whispered conversation on the side and didn’t realize that an individual recording of one of the show’s participants was about [...]
“You’re passionate about what you’re doing, and you really care about the people you’re working with.” I’d love to tell you this was something that was said about me, but it wasn’t. It was said to my friend Ruth, and it’s something she shared with me when we got together recently to catch up on what’s been going on in our lives. Ruth is an indoor cycle instructor. She leads classes at the fitness centers where she works, and she is so good at what [...]
“I found my voice. Now what do I do?” That was the subject of a session I presented at the Toastmasters District 6 Fall Conference last Saturday, and it’s a question I spent a long time trying to answer for myself. When I first joined Toastmasters, one of the reasons was that I felt I could express myself fairly well in print, but not when I was speaking out loud. I didn’t have any noble or global ambitions at the time, I just wanted to [...]
During the past few weeks, I’ve been at three different Toastmasters meetings where the theme of the meeting was autumn, or the changing of the seasons. At all of them, participants and guests were asked what they liked best about the fall season. Probably the most popular response was about the fall colors. Even though we experience it every year, there’s something magical and mesmerizing about the glorious colors of fall when they first start to appear. Throughout the season, we continue to marvel at [...]
As the days grow shorter, and the weather turns colder, we start winding down in anticipation of the dark, dreary winter months ahead – at the same time we start revving up in preparation for the holiday hustle and bustle to come. Although I’m busier than ever right now, I’m enjoying the “winding down” feeling, reflecting on some of the events and activities I’ve been taking part in lately. Especially on my mind are the three trips I took between late August and mid-September – [...]
While I was packing and preparing for my trip to Uganda, I joked with family and friends that I’d need to dress in layers for my trip. Not because it was going to take a long time to get there, or because it’s so chilly in airplanes – although both are true. Instead I was afraid I’d have to go more than a week with just the clothes I was wearing, since my luggage was filled to the max with donated clothing, books, and supplies [...]
Although it was close to midnight when we got home the night before, we were on the road again at 6:30 in the morning, traveling from Kampala to Iganga for my 9:00 program. I would be speaking to teachers at Buckley High School, which is actually a highly acclaimed Girls' Primary Boarding School, with students aged 6-15. My camera was in my lap as we traveled along. Every so often I’d snap a photo of the people and livestock walking along the side of the [...]