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Survival guide for grads
At commencement you wear your square-shaped mortarboards. My hope is that from time to time you will let your minds be bold, and wear sombreros.” ~Paul Freund Like most moms, I spent years lecturing my kid on the importance of working hard, eating healthy meals, writing thank-you notes, and ironing his dress shirts. But I neglected to impart other words of wisdom along the way. That’s why I wrote the following list of graduation “survival tips” and shared them in my local newspaper column before my son left home for college in 2004. Big congrats to all the new graduates this season! “A Survival Guide for Grads” *Relationships, like cars,…
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Catch up with me in The Oakland Press
Rebooting our social lives after the pandemic … The secrets of good conversationalists … The mental health benefits of writing a memoir … How to change your life with gratitude … What happened when I quit Facebook …and more. If you missed my latest lifestyles columns and feature stories in The Oakland Press or Vitality magazine, you’ll find them online here.
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Zen and the art of gardening
“All my hurts my garden spade can heal.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson Last spring, members of our local Master Gardener Society invited me to speak at one of their meetings. I was honored, at first, but as soon as the date of the talk rolled around, I started getting nervous. And with good reason. Master Gardeners aren’t just fooling around with bulbs and blossoms. These folks earn a minimum of 40 hours of instruction in horticulture science. Meeting for at least 11 weeks, they take classes in caring for indoor and outdoor plants, establishing lawns, growing vegetables and fruit trees, designing gardens, and more. I bow to their expertise. Barely…
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How to be a badass encourager
“Be an encourager. The world has plenty of critics already.” ~Dave Willis The hilarious mug in the photo was a gift from dear friends last year. While I don’t think of myself as a badass, I break into a smile each time I fill it with morning coffee. It’s a daily reminder of how good it feels to be supported, validated, and encouraged. Note to self: Find ways to encourage others who might need an extra boost too. After all, everybody’s muddling through the start of another crappy pandemic year. It would help if we’d all be nicer to each other — more encouraging, less critical. In addition to the…
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Be kind to your server
“A person who is nice to you but isn’t nice to the waiter is not a nice person.” ~Dave Barry This column was originally published in the June 13 print editions of the Sunday Oakland Press and Macomb Daily. Click here to see it online in the Macomb Daily. Now that we’re vaccinated, my husband and I have started dining out in restaurants again. The change of scenery and the break from my home cooking have done wonders for our mental outlook – and helped us regain a sense of normalcy after a long year of sheltering in place. We also want to support our local economy. At the same time, however,…
