It's that time of year again. The summer is coming to an end, the sun is setting earlier, and students are getting ready to head back to school. Many of my eldest son's friends have already left for college. I have overheard him saying to them, "Don't forget your SWIM TRUNKS!" I questioned him about this recently because I did't think that every one of his friends' colleges has a swimming pool or is located near a beach. He explained to me what he means when he says SWIM TRUNKS! You see, his middle school math and science teacher used to use that phrase quite often. He had a few students who repeatedly came to class unprepared. They often showed up for school without their text books, left their notebooks in their lockers, or forgot to bring pencils and their calculators on mathematics exam days. The teacher said the same thing each and every time: "SWIM TRUNKS! You wouldn't show up at a pool or a beach without them, you shouldn't show up to my class unprepared either. Always remember your SWIM TRUNKS!" Read More

By now you have probably seen, heard and read the many tributes to the late, great singer Aretha Franklin who passed away last week in Detroit. Upon someone's death, particularly someone famous, we are immediately reminded of the many wonderful things that were accomplished in their lifetime. Like me, you probably traveled down memory lane when you heard Aretha's many hits from her extremely successful, six-decades long career. I was particularly emotional when I watched the video of her performance at the 1998 Grammy Awards. As the story goes, Aretha was scheduled to perform a song with The Blues Brothers that evening and she was sitting in her designated seat in the audience when the awards ceremony began. The famous Italian operatic tenor, Luciano Pavarotti was supposed to perform at the show but took ill after the late-afternoon dress rehearsal and called from his trailer after the show started to say that he could not possibly perform. Thirty minutes after the start of the awards ceremony, Aretha was asked by the show's producers to perform in place of Luciano. This was not too much to ask of a seasoned veteran like Aretha, right? Wrong! They asked her to perform one of Luciano's hits, not one of her own. Ever the professional, Aretha agreed to sing the emotionally heart-wrenching and incredibly difficult aria "Nessun Dorma", a song which Pavarotti had mastered and made famous. Twenty years later we have the videotape of Aretha's performance which "brought the house down". She was "called to serve" that evening in 1998 at Radio City Music Hall in NYC and she famously and graciously answered that call.   Have you ever been asked to do something at the last minute? Did you answer the call? Read More

Recently my sons took their five-hour driving course, so I did what any parent would do when they are presented with 5 hours of free time...I went antiquing in Vermont with my husband! You are probably quite familiar with the expression "one man's trash is another man's treasure" - those words truly come to life when you are exploring the packed rooms and shelves of antique stores. It was literally a 'walk down memory lane' for us as we went from room-to-room looking at decades-old presidential election memorabilia, 4-feet high stacks of old vinyl records and shelves filled with the blue and white Pyrex dishes that we each remembered from our Grandmother's kitchen. Read More

You wake up at 3am with your heart racing. You have a pit in your stomach. You feel restless, light-headed, and hot. Your mind starts to race, and before you know it, you’re worrying about the list of things that need to be done tomorrow. Though mind and body reactions may vary, these symptoms are often an indication of anxiety. Read More

When you think of Christopher Robin and Winnie the Pooh, are you brought right back to a point in your childhood when you opened up the pages of the classic book or you watched the characters come to life on tv or at the movies? I have the fondest memories of those beloved characters and the many life lessons I learned from their interactions in the Hundred Acre Wood. All of these years later, Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Piglet and Eeyore are back on the big screen and have an important message for us all.   In the recently released movie, "Christopher Robin", the lead character is all grown up with a family of his own and a job at a luggage company. The position comes with its own baggage since Christopher Robin's' boss is extremely demanding and the job consumes all of his time. When he is unable to get time off, his family even decides to go on vacation without him. I am not giving anything away when I tell you that Christopher Robin's oldest and dearest friend Winnie the Pooh plays a role in the ultimate wake-up-call that comes Christopher's way. Read More

I admit it...I love polished wood furniture! It makes me happy to walk into any one of the rooms in my home and see that the furniture surfaces are gleaming! None of my pieces are cherished family heirlooms, but I take care of them as if they are or someday might be. The challenge that I have faced is trying to achieve polished wood perfection without using any chemicals. I was a card-carrying member of the "Pledge and Endust" Fan Club for many years. It was a wonderful feeling to be able to easily wipe away dust and fingerprints and leave a shiny and smudge-resistant surface in their place. The problem was that there were many hormone-disrupting chemicals hiding in plain sight in the aerosol can that had a regular presence in my left hand! Read More