Shortly before the baby was born, Andrew asked if I would be willing to watch the baby one to two times a week. Although my head was telling me no, my heart was telling me yes. I didn’t have much help when my children were babies and I remembered how that made me feel. I felt alone, overwhelmed, and heavy-hearted.

Last weekend I was invited to attend a community “State of the Union” event. I wasn’t asked because I was an elected official, but more importantly I was invited because I was a member of the community, a tax payer, and a stakeholder in my city. It was a nice opportunity to come together as one for a common goal: to make our community better.

Lately, I’d been feeling like my body was starting to let me down. Getting older shouldn’t mean doom and gloom. It should be about using what we have while making the most of it right now. Our amazing bodies support our physical being, mind, and soul.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary describes the meaning of envy as, “the feeling of wanting to have what someone else has.” Can you relate to these words? In this new year, I invite you to do and feel something radically different. It will take the pressure off comparison and will actually make you feel better, and dare I say satisfied. Read on my friends.

Children come to mind during the season that fill many with the wonder, and the magic of what might be underneath the Christmas tree or simply the feeling in the air . Looking back when I was a child, I can remember how excited my brothers, sister and I felt in the waiting, in the preparation, and in the anticipation of the season.

This past weekend I was able to spend time with my bestie and her husband at their cabin in Door County, Wisconsin. When we planned activities for the weekend, hands down, we wanted to make sure to add Newport State Park which is on the tip of the Door Peninsula to our must do list.

This past weekend, I was able to spend some the day with one of my childhood friends. We went to grade school and high school together. We were inseparable during our grade school years. Our sixth grade teacher gave us the nickname of the three stooges (me, Ronda and our friend, Mary). If I remember correctly Ronda was Moe, I was Larry and Mary was Curly. I’m pretty confident we liked to chitty-chat and giggle during class.

How many times have you said the words, “I have to ________(fill in the blank)?” Believe me, I can’t begin to count the number of times I’ve said that in my life. “I have to go grocery shopping” or “I have to go to work.” Imagine all the times you’ve said that in a day. Over the last few months, every time those words have left my mouth, I made an effort to exchange them from “I have to” to “I get to.” Doesn’t that have a lighter and happier feeling in your body?

Whenever my children ask me what I want for my birthday, I can never think of a single thing. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of items I’d like, I just can’t think of any when expected to answer on the fly. Since my house backs up to a busy road in my community and I don’t have a fence, they thought planting bushes in between the trees already lining my property would help with privacy during the winter months when the trees were free of leaves. Planting evergreen bushes was the perfect gift and solution!

Last weekend happened to be the 9th annual “Friendship Flower Pot” celebration. My high school girls and I gather each year to celebrate the beginning of the summer season, friendship and flowers. Each person brings enough plants and flowers to share with everyone.

Along with most of the world, I’ve been trying to come up with things to do during this Coronavirus isolation phase. This week in the US, most states announced shut-downs of non-essential businesses and asked the population to avoid going out of their homes unless it was a necessity. In doing so, people are coming up with creative ways to stay active and in-touch with others while cooped up at home.

Oh my goodness, what a crazy few weeks it’s been with the state of the world, the Coronavirus and the media. To be honest, I try to be informed about current events but also don’t watch the news on a regular basis because it’s mostly negative. It’s refreshing whenever I hear the feel-good news I know is out there but not focused on.

A few weekends ago, I had dinner with 151 dear and mostly new friends on a beautiful summer’s eve. It was a night under the stars and farm-to-table dinner, held in an opened-roof greenhouse. Farm-to-table dinners are all the rage now and would recommend to give one a try. I’ve been to a few in the past, but this night specifically, far exceeded any expectations.

Even though we were sad she’d no longer be a part of the retreat, we gave her the gift of true friendship. We loved her enough to let her go where her heart was leading. She knew where it was calling and was brave enough to admit it to herself and us. It was a night of true grace and understanding and I’m proud of her for following her heart.

Hundreds of people came together to honor a beautiful soul; which included overflow seating in another area of the considerable sized church. What I witnessed at the celebration of his life, touched my heart to it’s core.

I have an upcoming girl’s adventure on the horizon, and it only seemed fitting to get a few new things to take on vacation. Since I am not a shopper by nature, I opted for the on-line variety. It all began a few months ago when I thought I would start the hunt early, in order to be prepared for my trip.

What do your dreams look like? Are you letting fear stop them, or are you taking one step at a time, getting closer to your dream? Have faith, trust your heart, and fly. Now is the time…..you can do it!

Living within a few miles of the lakefront, we are subject to lake effect snow. This week my area was in the path of a heavy storm. It fell on-and-off for two days, and in the end had accumulated about a foot. It was beautiful but……….Holy Snowstorm, Batman!