The month of May is national mental health awareness month, and it’s a good time to do a self check. This is your annual reminder, a public service announcement, if you will. When my oldest son was 13 or 14 he developed an interest in knife throwing. One day he[Read More…]

Most of us are familiar with the concept of leaving things in better condition than we found them. Whether you’re visiting a park or a campground and you pack out your own trash as well as the litter left by someone else, or you’re staying at a friend’s home as[Read More…]

As a child I was fascinated with ants, to the point my mother told me I better stop staring at those tiny things all the time or I’d ruin my eyesight. Whether my obsession with ants or bad genetics landed me in Coke bottle glasses at 12 is open to[Read More…]

Know your limits. Know when to give, know when to demand, know when to say no, know when enough is enough.” ~ Unknown There’s a soundtrack on repeat in my head that has the “be all you can be” Army recruitment jingle, coupled with Jane Fonda saying “go for the[Read More…]

“You cannot prevent the birds of sorrow from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from building nests in your hair.” ~ Old Chinese Proverb Every time I think I’ve mastered the art of grief — and it is an art, in that it’s intensely personal and wildly[Read More…]

“Aristocrats don’t notice philosophical conundra. They just ignore them. Philosophy includes contemplating the possibility that you might be wrong, sir, and a real aristocrat knows that he is always right. It’s not vanity, you understand, it’s built-in absolute certainty. They may sometimes be as mad as a hatful of spoons,[Read More…]

“The truth does not mind being questioned;a lie does not like being challenged.” ~ Unknown It’s “Sunshine Week” across the nation — a time to recognize the importance of freedom of information and the public’s right-to-know what its elected and appointed officials are doing and why. In the United States,[Read More…]

“The hardest thing in the world to understand is income tax.” ~ Albert Einstein That little snippet from an actual genius made me feel better about my efforts to fill out my tax forms this year. I gave up halfway through and handed the task over to Caitlin. It may[Read More…]

Based solely on the Merriam-Webster dictionary definition, it feels like a fair share of us have a bad case of cabin fever: “Extreme irritability and restlessness from living in isolation or a confined indoor area for a prolonged time.” Sound familiar? Bickering and squabbling, aggravation and frustration, a sudden urge[Read More…]

In attempting to gain context for the ongoing changes and discussion surrounding the Fairfield apartments I found myself in a kind of vacuum. I knew what I’d heard said in meetings, but that information lacked context. How exactly did the Fairfield apartments come under county ownership? How was the Meeker[Read More…]

Order, tranquility, good connection with family and friends, contact with nature, emotional stability, no worries, no regrets, lots of positivity and staying away from toxic people … ~ What Maria Branyas Morera credits with her longevity, according to the Guinness Book of World Records The world’s oldest woman is 115[Read More…]