Realizations of a frustrated communicator — I am a Maximizer. I used to think that meant I made the best out of a situation. And, I suppose that’s still true. But, according to Now Discover Your Strengths, (by the dreamy-blue-eyed Marcus Buckingham) a Maximizer is someone that develops already performing folks to the best potential. While…

(Trigger warning: suicide) — I once explained to a small group my ideas for selling an odd mismatched item. At the end of the discussion, in which I shared a rather off-the-wall approach that actually HAS worked before, one of the people asked me if I could sell ice to the Eskimos. “No,” I said…

Look at the whole, not just the fringe — Social Media is one of my passions. This no longer makes me feel embarrassed and ashamed. Through social media I see my grandsons, often all of them, in two different states, all on the same day. I get to share in the excitement of a sports achievement, get to see the…

Sometimes the magic takes time — My first daughter was 2 and a half when her little sister was born. We made sure that the baby arrived (miraculously and mysteriously!) with an ‘I am the BIG Sister’ t shirt and baby doll for Jennifer. Careful introductions were made. Much attention lavished on Jennifer. Shannon came home on- I…

Don’t get distracted — I heard a commercial tonight; medication for people that ‘struggle with obesity’. That’s odd. Many things are a struggle for me: parallel parking online banking growing the nail on my left index finger keeping my witness when six lanes merge into two and someone decides they can make their own…

What are the Main Rules for your family? — When they were small and I admonished my daughters to ‘Behave!’ it was my youngest daughter’s usual response to say ‘We ARE being-have!’ Her protest was usually accurate. There is, after all, a limit to the mischief you can do when you are under three feet tall. …

Sometimes too much is wonderful — When my husband-to-be and I moved into our house we did it all ourselves. Load after load in the back of the van and car. Load. After. Load. After. Load. After Load. At one point, after we set the Craft Shelving into place in the basement (note- Craft Shelving is white…

The Holy Moley and the Wholey Whaler — I’ve lived in Michigan for 19 years but to me ‘eating local’ means Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh has several fine restaurants (steak, Pittsburgh-style), many mom and pop diners (pancakes and omelets to make you weep with joy), and some truly amazing firehalls and church meeting rooms to tempt your tastebuds (kielbasa and…

Please: Don’t shoot — Friday June 3 is the start of #WearOrange weekend. It is also National Gun Violence Awareness Day. Orange is the color worn in the woods during hunting season: a bright and vivid color used to protect the wearer from death by shooting. Bluntly: it’s done to protect people from being killed. If…