Margaret was an elderly woman I was transporting in the ambulance to the hospital. Alzheimer's had taken much of Margaret's memory. I was completing my paperwork and asked Margaret how old she was. Margaret replied, "I don't know." So, I said, ...

Remember that old adage we learned as kids, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words may never harm me?" We all know that there is no wisdom in that. It just isn't true because words definitely hurt the people to which they are spoken, ...

The Merriam Webster dictionary defines community as basically a unified body of individuals. Then it adds, "such as:" and describes an assortment of types of those unified bodies or groups. Those are fancy words to describe what happens when a ...

Voltaire said, "Life is a shipwreck, but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats." What a good quote to put on your bathroom mirror, on your computer screen, on a sticky note anywhere where you will see it every day. During these dark times...

There are two precious books in my personal library. One I received from the Ramker family when I retired, and one I received from my friend, Beth Wilson, for Christmas. The titles are, The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse, and

Elena Aguilar says in her book, Onward: Cultivating Emotional Resilience in Educators, "A substantial amount of our ability to be resilient is fostered in our daily habits." We often focus on how we can make daily tasks easie...

When I was a little girl, my favorite thing to do for fun was to play "house." I would spend hours in my make-believe-house that I made in my room. My dad built me a kitchen sink, stove, refrigerator, and cupboard. I loved playing "house." Do y...

Dr. Edith Eva Eger, survived the concentration camps during World War II. She came to America and became a mental health therapist. Eger stated in her book, The Choice: Embrace the Possible, "that we remain victims as long as we hold a...

Metaphors are my favorite way of understanding life, science, behaviors, almost anything. Therefore, I'm constantly on the lookout for nuances in social situations, profound things people say without even knowing they were profound, or reaction...

One of the most powerful pieces of wisdom I got from my dad was when he told me, "Always assign people value." People yearn to be noticed and valued. I think it is instinctive. Some time ago I shared the story about a nursing student taking a c...

Long ago I came upon a quote that says, "Words are a powerful vehicle. They can give life, or they can take it away." How true. How many skills and gifts have been left uncelebrated or unused because someone spoke of them with words of criticis...

My friend, Diane Quail, inherited a "seam ripper" when her grandma died. She had no idea what it was. When she learned that it was used to rip out stitches in a garment or something that had been sewn, she was eventually led into the world of q...

When I was a little girl, my dad's nickname for me was, "Mrs. MaGoo." He probably coined the name from a popular children's cartoon in the early 50's and '60's called, "Mr. MaGoo," who was a blind, kind, elderly man and was always mistaking som...

The book, The Power of Mattering: How Leaders Can Create a Culture of Significance by Zach Mercurio, has become a favorite of mine. It is applicable to anyone because it teaches skills that ensure that those around us know they ar...

In the first season of Ted Lasso, Nate Shelley is introduced as the quiet, insecure "kit" man for the soccer team. When Ted asks his name, he doesn't believe he heard him right and says nothing. Ted succeeds in starting a relationship with him ...

Has someone ever told you a story about another person and you respond with, "Yup, that sounds like them." Or have you seen or heard other telltale signs by the way of something said or shared or done and you immediately know who it was? People...

How often have you heard someone say, "Well that's a first!" Or maybe they say, "Well, I had a first today!" Firsts are fascinating events. Some of them are powerful enough not only to stay with us in memory, but sometimes they change our lives...

When I was in high school, I had a friend who loved quotes like I did. We found one that left an imprint on me for all these years. It is not that I am following the wisdom within this phrase faithfully, but having it memorized and referred to ...

The famous former Roman Emperor, Marcus Aurelius wrote, "In the end, character isn't defined by grand gestures, but by the small moments when we think no one is watching. It's our daily choices - our response to rudeness, our handling of power,...

There are some things in life that are "wants," and some things that are "needs." Art sometimes seems like a "want," like "I want to learn to draw," or "I wish I could sing." However, it is different from the "need" for art. Art is as old as ci...

Algorithm is defined as a procedure for solving a mathematical problem that frequently involves repetition of an operation. Repetition. Repeating something we do or think over and over, creating a pattern, which leads to learning and rememberin...

One day, when I was a TAG teacher in Forest City Elementary School, our school counselor resigned. I happened to meet Dave Cunningham, the former school counselor and now the assistant principal, in the lobby the next morning. I asked him if he...

One of the daily feeds I get in my email is The Writer's Almanac. It recounts birthdays and anniversaries of famous people of the arts or historical events. I enjoy reading how some of the authors, musicians, or artists were ...

We all handle stress in different ways. Some ways are healthy and some not so healthy. But however it is handled, we all need to deal with it from time to time. I will never forget hearing Dr. Amid Sood speak in a TEDx talk once. He described a...

Leaving a place you have loved and moving toward another opportunity always carries mixed emotions. My dad was a pastor. While in the seminary, he and some of his classmates wrote a book compiled with stories each of them had written describing...