The turkey has been devoured, the guests have been sufficiently stuffed and at this stage of the holiday we are in our comfy clothes in an effort to recuperate.  As I'm typing this, it’s the day after Thanksgiving. This should be a time to rest, reminisce and reflect upon the past and to make plans that look toward the future; a time to reconnect to the people and things that are important to us as families and as a community. Right about now you should hear the grating screech of the needle that slides across the record as I jolt you back into reality. Reflection, my eye, it’s Black Friday …

If we are lucky, we are blessed from time to time with the opportunity to have someone enter our lives that leaves an imprint that is indelibly marked upon our souls. They shed a light on a part of us that was hidden away and bring out something special that we didn’t know we had.  Finding my voice as a writer has been a challenge as my career as an advocate and educator has blossomed over the years. I found myself putting in words the thoughts and passions of others to promote a new trend or teach a lesson as the years went on.  Then one day in August a little over a year ago, this new …

It’s been an emotional week in the news.  The release of Amanda Knox, the passing of Steve Jobs, a baby abducted from her own crib and the ongoing Conrad Murray manslaughter trial. As a parent, each of these headlines tugs at the heart of what frightens us the most – a child in distress. The Amanda Knox appeal was a prime example of the media stuck in "replay” mode where we felt like we kept hearing the same story over and over again. Putting the media mediocrity aside, the appeal process twanged a heart string that causes every parent of a young adult to want to hide under a rock. Every time…

We never did it that way before. These are fighting words in my vocabulary. There is nothing more infuriating to a hard working mother, wife, friend and professional then to solely rely on what we did before without giving the notion that trying something new or that different may be of benefit.  Can you feel the irritation in my words? This is a hint of what’s to come. I am wearing my cranky pants this week, friends, and hope that you will indulge my need to vent. It all started when social networking mogul, Mark Zuckerberg, and his pals at Facebook decided to make some changes to the …

If I am truly honest with myself, I should be completely up front and admit that now that I am a little older, I should consider monitoring how much rest I get. But, like everything else in life, honesty can be really hard. So, here is my attempt at complete honesty as I admit that I am really tired! I don’t mean the yawn-in-the-middle-of-the-afternoon tired but the could-I-just-put-my-head-down-and-take-a-nap kind of tired.  What happened to the days when I could put in a full day’s work, come home to make a three-course dinner, get through a few loads of laundry, run an errand or two, help …

Well, I knew the day would eventually arrive, but I never thought it would happen so soon. The first day of school came and went and, for the first time this year, or dare I say, in my tenure as a mom, I did not participate in the ceremonial first day “happy dance.” Sigh. My fellow moms out there know exactly what I am talking about but for those who are scratching their heads, the “happy dance” by definition is the moment in time on the first day of school when your child or children have boarded the bus, blown kisses goodbye and embark upon the adventure that is their prescribed education…

Just when our community and my family thought that life was taking a “business as usual” track, a major weather event, named “Irene”, comes along to test our every sensibility. Facing the unknown, when recent history has shown us how devastating a hurricane can be to coastal communities, filled us all with a kind of trepidation that most of us wish to only see on the silver screen. Randy Pausch, author of The Last Lecture, was once quoted as saying that, “It is not the things we do in life that we regret on our death bed. It is the things we do not. Find your passion and follow it. Your …

The last time I found myself preparing for a major weather event as serious as Hurricane Irene was 20 years ago almost to the week with Hurricane Bob.  In that time, I gave birth to 2 more children, moved out of our beloved mobile home and into a house with a foundation, my oldest child grew into adulthood and moved to his own place and, of course, I grew 20 years older. Now it’s 2011 and a categorized major storm is on its way and the world is a much different place. Back then I was scared. I was still a new mom and my world seemed so much smaller. No less important, mind you, just smaller. …

Walking through the aisles of the local office supply store, I am struck by the number of Moms and Dads with that "deer in headlights" dazed look as they are dragged by their children because of that time of year upon us again. Yes, it's "Back-to-School" folks.  Lists in hand, we step-by-step fill the basket with pens, pencils and post-it notes wondering if last year's supplies ever really got used or ended up in the ever popular circular file.  Around me, I also notice that the age of students in tow ranges from the very young to middle school.  And there I am with my "number 3" child, 12 …

I have a hard enough time coming to terms with high school and college reunions but this date in history really threw me for a loop: It was 20 years ago this week when Hurricane Bob touched down on Aquidneck Island.  I was a mere spring chick at the young age of 27 with a husband of only four years and our first child only a toddler. Our first home was a mobile home in Bay View Park on Connell Highway. It was the summer of 1991 and all was well with the world. That is until the skies turned a scary dark gray and we were all reminded that living on an island can be both beautiful and deadly at…

My Facebook newsfeed was recently sprinkled with statuses that featured, “If you grew up in (insert community of origin here) share some memories”.  Frankly, I felt left out. Although I believe that when I say, ”there’s no place like home” I am referring to my beloved Middletown, I am reminded that I did not grow up here.  It is my home of adoption. I am what true Islanders refer to as a “carpetbagger.” I transplanted here after attending college. Yes, I am a Salve girl, and pretty darned proud of it!  To this day, I do believe that when my parents dropped me off on Aquidneck Island those so …

I have a confession to make. I am terribly afraid of flying. The truth is, I have no immediate plans to get on a jet plane and go anywhere but I found myself reminded of this fear when a colleague asked me this week if I had plans to take a vacation. He asked if I was going to take some time off and when a I responded with a resounding, “You bet!” he asked if I had plans to go anywhere.  “I am planning on going home,” I said. He grinned and then asked me where home was. “Why here, silly,” was my rather glib response.  We went on to chat about the fact that we live in the most beautiful …

With the temperature outside at a level that reads as an error message on the thermometer, this writer must admit from the get-go, it’s hot and I’m cranky.  Don’t say I didn’t warn you. What adds insult to injury is the way every other person I have run into in the past few days feels the need to ask me, “Is it hot enough for ya?” Where on earth did this ridiculous colloquialism come from? Well, in an effort to keep from having to write my column from the inside of the local constabulary after having to explain to the judge that I have had enough with said statements that simply make me go “…

Many, many years ago, when my oldest was but an infant, my mother-in-law taught me the most important lesson in parenting that I still remember to this day.  She said that when parenting we should always try to raise our kids to be “the kids that people look forward to spending time with or that make people smile when they enter aroom.”  With every milestone and every tick of the clock, her words continue to ring true as a relatively foolproof gauge for whether or not we are even coming close to doing our duty as decent parents. Are you talking about my kid? I can’t tell you how many times I …

I had the opportunity to share a lovely “summer supper on the deck” with mommy friends this week. What did we have in common? We all have older children. No more diapers, preschools, play dates, early bedtimes or constant reruns of the same video over and over. With these fine ladies, the discussion centered on college experiences, the birth of new careers and of course, lots of “remember when” stories. As we shared our tales of days gone by, we high-fived to the stories of our boys leaving their laundry where they may and our girls takingmore showers in one day than the law should allow. But…

One of the benefits to writing a weekly column is that the author has an opportunity to share the moments from day-to-day existence that somehow make a difference, mark a milestone, or leave an impression.  This week I had the chance to reflect on the career of a dear friend, who after nearly 40 years as an educator and administrator is moving on to the next chapter in his life.  This week, he will become a full-fledged retiree.  With 22 years worth of a career already under my own belt, I wonder what he must be thinking as he clears out his office, accepts his gifts and well wishes and gets …

As you read this I will be sitting under a giant white tent, listening to the band playing Pomp and Circumstance and marveling at the sea of blue and white with tassels dangling over mortar boards and the number '11 glistening in the light. It’s graduation day at Middletown High School. Today is a very special day. Not because one of my own children will be crossing that stage but because for the first time, I have been invited to present a diploma — a special tradition at MHS that has touched my heart in a way that is difficult to explain. In our district, a graduating senior has an …

I went on a road trip with colleagues from work this weekend. A dangerous first line, I think, as this trip could have gone in a myriad of directions as we boarded the van ready to embark on a nearly six hour ride to the Berkshire Mountains of New York. We started with a bit of a blip as we discovered in the first 10 minutes of our trek that we were going in the wrong direction to avoid traffic and had to turn around and nearly start over. I thought we were in trouble for sure. The good news – that’s where the laughter began. Already, the folks “in the back” were asking if we were there yet …

I think a new holiday is in order.  In line with Labor Day, Mother’s Day, and my birthday, I am proposing No Calendar Day. A day when we are asked NOT to open our electronic, paperbound, dry erase or scrap paper mechanisms for telling us where to be when. As I think this through, I would include a mandatory “turning off the alarm clock” clause, “leave the email alone” section and “make sure you eat a meal sometime during the day” article. To say that this past week was overscheduled would be a severe understatement. Professionally and personally, I created a logistical monster with a …

Well, I think that we can all finally agree that spring, or some facsimile thereof, has finally arrived.  With that come the barbeques, the evenings around the fire pit and my favorite diversion, baseball games.  Lots and lots of them.  Little League, Babe Ruth, Varsity, Softball, Collegiate, Major League and the kids playing wiffle ball in the street.  America’s favorite pastime is certainly number one in my book. So it would stand to reason, in my mind anyway, that by spending so much time in the bleachers of many a baseball game this season that the following question would bounce around …