Weather-wise, this has been a pretty bad summer. I hesitate to even use the word summer because it is a stretch. Really, we’ve had a nice spring or fall, but certainly it has not shaped up to the season usually marked by weeks of gloriously hot, sunny days. There have been only glimmers of summer weather, so few in fact, …
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Sometimes it is best to lie on the floor and contemplate real truth
When you open your eyes and are staring at the ceiling (and you are not lying in bed) it probably means you have fallen — unexpectedly. More specifically, it may mean that someone has pulled the rug out from under you. For each of us it is a different degree of tragedy, sorrow, or pain that sends us to the …
In our mourning and grief we both lose and gain
This past week I find myself mourning three people I didn’t know: one child, one columnist, one professor. Two are from our community, one is not. Regarding the child, I wrote once before about the loss of a child, a tragic burden to their family and our community, because with that child’s life goes all the hopes and dreams everyone …
Joy and passion in your work will bring satisfaction
Do you love your job? Do you get up every morning excited to get started? If you are like me, and you love what you do from 9 a. m. to 5 p. m., you don’t need to use the four-letter word — work — when you are heading out the door. Donald Cooper — a man whose family name …
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Be open to finding wonder in the most unexpected places
I don’t think you are supposed to find wonder in a tunnel connecting two terminals in the Detroit airport, but I did. I was reminded of my sense of wonder, and how far I had wandered away from it. When my kids were going through their firsts, I reveled alongside them: the first snowflake to touch their face, the first …
Wanting what you have IS getting what you need
Wanting and needing, getting and having. It seems that our thirst is never quenched. Why do we always want more? I felt small as a child and wanted to be big — worth-noticing “big.” I wanted to be wanted. I wanted to belong. I wanted to play. I wanted to learn. I wanted to see new things and try new …
Live your life so that you will be well remembered
Editorial & Opinion, Wednesday, June 16, 2008 We’re all headed for the same place. The difference is the way we get there, and how quickly we get there. We could be dead tomorrow or around for another hundred years. Who knows. Some of us take the high road and some take the low road, some take it all in stride, …
Teams, organizers changed for the better after Adventure Challenge
Editorial & Opinion, Wednesday, May 14, 2008 On Sunday May 4, 2008, I made more than 171 friends (pretty good for one weekend). I was lucky enough to be part of the provincial High School Adventure Challenge where I met 57 teams of three from 41 communities across Ontario, along with their coaches, parents, guardians, and a number of volunteers. …
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Find the time to do all the things you want to – and have to – do
Editorial & Opinion, Wednesday, April 16, 2008 Last week, my husband e-mailed me information on a CQI time management/life balance course that I was scheduled to co-teach. He joked and wrote, “YOU’RE going to teach people about life balance?” I know what he’s getting at – I am a very busy person. Here is a snapshot of my world: I …
Warning: reading this column may have you nodding in agreement
Wouldn’t it be nice if people came with disclaimers? Disposable coffee cups often warn “contents may be hot.” My hairdryer also has a laundry-list of disclaimers, including “do not use while sleeping.” Thanks. I’m truly not sure how I lived this long without knowing such important information (yes, read that with a very sarcastic tone). Coors has beer cans that …