Are You Open or Closed to New Ideas?
Do you have a friend who’s persnickety about the “ethnic correctness” of food? One of mine refuses to go to a very popular Italian restaurant owned by a Middle Eastern man, not because of the man’s ethnicity but because his dishes are fragranced with more than just garlic and basil. She believes that if it’s being called “Italian” then the food needs to be authentically Italian.
Maybe she has a point. Yet she’s missing out on some of the most delicious Italian dishes I’ve ever had, and I lived in Italy for three years of my life.
Maybe you have a friend who hates TexMex food because it’s not authentically Mexican. OK, maybe they have a point, too, like my friend might. Yet if they want to be true to their demand for “ethnic correctness” they need to keep their paws out of the nacho plate, keep their hands off the fajitas, and are not allowed to even think of scooping up any of the cowboy beans. Those are all...
What Would Lucy Do?
Six seasons. One hundred eighty episodes. Syndicated in dozens of languages in countries worldwide. Almost 75 years since it debuted, the I Love Lucy show still attracts over 40,000,000 viewers each year.
How’s that for a silly half-hour sitcom?
Turns out, the sitcom created as a showcase for Lucille Ball and her then-husband, Desi Arnaz, was more than simply a showcase. It’s a deceptively simple, incredibly complex series of life lessons about humor, acceptance, perseverance, and trust. With comical storylines crafted around core values, along with four main characters who are instantly relatable and likable, the I Love Lucy show changed the landscape of television and of how people viewed relationships, friendships, and careers.
- Do you ever feel like no one understands you? That was a key piece of Ricky Ricardo’s life experience on the show.
- Do you ever feel like your dreams will never come true? That was a key piece of Lucy Ricardo’s life experience on...
Did You Ever Want to be a Nurse?
When you were 7 or 8, what did you want to be when you grew up? I wanted to be a nurse. Nurses were glamorous – they wore white uniforms with matching white shoes and hats, and I was convinced that’s what I’d be. It wasn’t long before I was on to the next thing I wanted to be – a veterinarian, then a pilot, then a performer – and the idea of being a nurse was as over and done with as an outgrown pair of shoes.
Thankfully for us all, real nurses weren’t as mercurial as I was in their pursuit of a career. Thankfully for us all, once they decided on nursing as a profession, they schooled and trained and worked their way into a career that’s probably more like a calling for them than a job. The work is hard, the hours are long, the patients are often surly, and yet they maintain their professional demeanor and take care of their patients, whether those patients are human or companion animal.
This week is a trifecta of nursing...
Are Dogs Really That Good for Us?
Do you have a dog? Maybe more than “a” dog? No judgement – my life has been dog-filled for as long as I can remember. The family dog was a mixed breed cutie, my dream dog was a Siberian Husky, and I got my first one when I was 20. I haven’t been without a Siberian since, and most of the time I’ve had more than one. My current Siberian is Kacey, and her canine housemate is Archie the Standard Poodle. I can’t imagine life without a dog – if that sounds like you, too, then we’re already friends, whether we’ve met or not.
Dogs are a wonderful example of being in the moment. They are keen observers of “right now” though their main way of examining the world is with their nose, not their eyes. They’re also keen observers of us – think about the things you do often in your day. Chances are your dog knows what’s about to happen based on your routine. For instance, when I’m putting on...
Mission Accomplished or Mission Forgotten?
It’s the end of September. The END of September – how did that happen? If it’s true that time flies when we’re having fun, we must be having a LOT of fun, right?
The Presidential election is in six weeks. Thanksgiving is in two months. The first night of Hanukkah and Christmas Day are the same date this year, and they’re just three months away. It seems like day before yesterday that 2024 was dawning and it feels like it’ll be 2025 day after tomorrow.
The feeling of time passing is relative. When you’re focused or busy or engaged in something you love doing, time flashes by. When you’re bored or sad or depressed, time is a caterpillar trying to organize all those feet to get moving.
If this year has flown by for you, too, then that means you’ve been busily productive and hopefully having fun while doing all that you’ve been doing. If you’ve felt like you’ve been spinning your wheels, that means you’ve had...
United was How This All Started
Two hundred thirty seven years ago, in a document with forty-five hundred words, thirty-nine men took their lives in their hands, put quill pen to parchment paper, and defined a new way to look at governance. Today is Constitution Day, a celebration of the definition of the United States. For eleven years, men whose very lives were at stake because of their leadership in the American revolution, wrestled, argued, wheedled, cajoled, bargained, and finally committed to paper the definition of their new government.
It's a good thing political ads hadn’t been invented yet, right?
As Americans slog through another season of divisiveness and blatantly misleading advertisements, lets take a moment to remember what brings us together. At the dawning of America there was a desire for freedom from a monarchy that simply wanted tribute and control. There was a desire for shared risk balanced with autonomy. There was a feeling that something new and wonderful was possible, and that a new...
Want to Let Go of Feeling Overwhelmed?
Hi {{ first_name }},
I don’t want to overwhelm you with this, but do you feel overwhelmed a lot? If I gave you an exhaustive list of what creates feelings of overwhelm in people, just reading the list could overwhelm you!
So…let’s not do that, shall we?
Feeling overwhelmed is very common. Each day brings with it a new set of potentially adverse events, missed timings, and piling on of responsibilities and tasks that anyone is at risk of overwhelm several times in the day. Everyone, especially those with anxiety or depression, can take a deep emotional dive when overwhelm hits.
Does it help you, even just a little bit, to know that it’s common, human, and normal to feel overwhelmed? Would it help you, even just a little bit, to know what’s happening in your brain that makes you feel so stuck? Because you’re not stuck, your brain is just blind to the possibilities at hand that can help tame the overwhelming feelings.
First, the...
Easing the Weight of Responsibility
Responsibility. That word can cause feelings of dread, perseverance, or pride. It can make your heart sing or sink. It can make you feel very grown-up or like you want to ditch adulting forever. How can so many emotions be wrapped in one simple word?
The answer – because it’s not simple.
Responsibility could feel like doing a hard thing anyway.
Responsibility could feel like doing something others expect you to do or need you to do, whether you want to or not.
Responsibility could feel like owning up to your mistakes or shortcomings.
As children, many of us were taught that we must earn the right to be responsible for certain things. If I wanted to have a dog, I had to prove to my parents that I could be trusted to do assigned tasks without prompting and without too much whining. Not all the responsibilities of the dog fell to me, but a couple did. They were boring and sometimes annoying, yet those feelings paled in comparison to the fun and joy Pixie brought to our...
Doggedly Determined to Succeed
Do you love dogs? Yeah, me, too. We’re in good company – a third of the world’s households have at least one dog, and most people consider their dog (or dogs) to be part of the family.
That describes my family – we had a dog as soon as Mom thought my youngest brother was old enough to understand the difference between a stuffed toy dog and a real live one and behave accordingly. One day Dad brought home a little black and tan ball of cuteness – big brown eyes, ears that aaaaaaalmost stood up, and a long tail that never stopped wagging. It was love at first sight, a love story that lasted nearly 16 years.
Pixie was an accident. Dad worked with a guy who had a Pekingese, and his next-door neighbors had a Chihuahua. Things happened and 63 days later there were 5 little oopsies looking for homes. Pixie landed in ours. Let’s just say Dad was a sucker for big brown eyes – Mom had them, too.
Whether or not you share your home and life with a...
Are You in Love With Broadcast Radio, Too?
Have you ever listened to the radio?
Since it’s 2024, I need to tighten up that question a bit: have you ever listened to terrestrial radio on a device that was picking up the signal out of thin air? Today is National Radio Day, and today, terrestrial radio is getting kind of quaint as people choose satellite radio services, streaming music services, and apps designed to play any kind of radio - terrestrial included – anywhere you are, on whatever device you choose.
127 years ago, radio was born, and about 45 years ago, my career in terrestrial radio began. No one person is credited with the invention of radio – three inventors working independently followed and built upon the emerging science of wireless electricity and voila! A radio signal was first broadcast by Guglielmo Marconi in 1897 using discoveries made by Nicola Tesla and Heinrich Hertz.
Broadcast radio made the world feel smaller and more like a community. Two decades after the very first successful...
