When I spanked my daughter, Joy, for hitting a friend on the playground, I should have realized she was going to be an attorney when she said to me, “How come I can’t hit him, but you can hit me?” with all the fury her three-year-old soul could muster. I stopped cold, with no answer […]

  “Life is a contact sport.”  Ken Kragen, who produced “We Are the World” in 1985, organized the “Hands Across America” movement in 1986 and managed stars such as Kenny Rogers and Lionel Richie, made this phrase famous in his 1994 book, titled the same.  Life is a Contact Sport describes ten career strategies for […]

My Mom’s words come out of my mouth. Not intentionally, they just do. They are buried deep in my brain, and just comes out sometimes. Her sayings like, “Better safe than sorry.” I said it today. I was contemplating a trip to the nursery. Do I really need to go there? How will I feel […]

Toilet Paper and Acts of Kindness Toilet paper hoarding is not a new phenomenon.   A shortage was sparked in 1973 by one of my favorite comedians, Johnny Carson.  The talk show host made a joke about a shortage of toilet paper that led to hoarding and shortages across the United States. In 1973, people were […]

Valentine’s Day that we just celebrated is one of many holidays that pull at our hearts.  Special days that remind us of those we love.  For those that have lost a loved one the first of these special days without their love is often very hard.  They feel not just alone, but may have a […]

Grief Gifts The Okawville Book Club met last Sunday for our yearly post-Christmas party.  It was a wonderful afternoon of fellowship.  The book we’d read was The 13th Gift: A True Story of a Christmas Miracle, a real-life story that juxtaposes the frailty of the human spirit with how resilient it can be.  One of […]

I was shy as a child, very quiet. I found my voice as I grew and realized I liked meeting new people and finding out about them.  As I advanced in my career at Illinois Power, mine was usually the only female voice in the room, so I felt I needed to speak up and […]

This week at St. Peter’s UCC Church in Okawville Pastor Jeff’s message was about the tax collector Zacchaeus, who climbed a tree to get a better view of Jesus, to get a different perspective.  Pastor Jeff incorporated that idea of getting a different perspective into Children’s Time, when all the little ones come up for […]

Our granddaughter, Quinn, has been with Bill and I this week.  She is three and just precious, precocious, and stubborn.  Much like her mom was at that age. We went boating Tuesday and Grandpa thought it would be a good idea to take her on the tube for a ride behind the boat.  They were […]

My husband, Bill, and I are driving home from northern Illinois as I write this.  Our son and daughter in law just had a baby girl and we had the privilege of meeting her minutes after she made her entrance to this world.  She is so precious, the best blessing in life. On Sunday we […]