Posts Tagged: respect

Billy Crystal — Did You Hear The One About The Dentist?

January 21st, 2014
Posted By:

The dentist.  Oy Vay! I went to the dentist yesterday morning for a teeth cleaning and I’m soooo glad it’s over.  My dentist is a really nice guy and tries to make it as painless as possible but I really hate going.  I try to do all the things you’re supposed to do to take care of your teeth but in the end, it’s just so boring.  A dentist visit may be healing but there was definitely no laughing or crying going on during my appointment.Just relief!
I think it’s a bit of a carryover from having many teeth extracted … Read More

Family On Air Force Two

November 30th, 2013
Posted By:

Black Friday for me was all about family. I have a cousin who is a major in the US Air Force and he and his wonderful family are stationed at Andrews Air Force Base which is about a 45-minute drive from my house.  He invited family members to come to Andrews yesterday and he conducted a special tour for us of Air Force Two and a number of other VIP jet planes. We had three generations of family with us and we spent a different kind of day together, hanging out, catching up and learning something new about our cousin’s… Read More

Compassionate Care

November 6th, 2013
Posted By:

I write about the subject of hospice care today because November is National Hospice Care month.  I don’t usually pay attention to the themes of specific months but in this case I saw a tweet about it and wanted to draw attention to the incredible people who do this important work. I have the greatest respect for the people who do hospice work.  The time and endless amounts of energy poured into this work of providing compassionate care to those diagnosed as terminally ill is critical to the patient and the families trying to do their best as a loved… Read More

Can You Hear Me Now?

October 29th, 2013
Posted By:

It’s one thing to forget to turn your cell phone off and then have it ring while you are in church, in a job interview, at a funeral or in a theater, but it takes some major manipulation of a person’s ego to actually answer it while they are in those places. Right? Someone I didn’t know sat next to me during a play and her cell phone started ringing.  I immediately looked at her and she started searching her purse to find the phone.  I assumed that once she found it, she would just turn it off.  Wrong!! She… Read More

Love On A Two Way Street

October 15th, 2013
Posted By:

I went to Trader Joe’s after work the other evening to pick up some up their fabulous pita chips and instead gained some insight into a different part of life in DC: being a homeless vendor. Near the entrance of the store stood a man, who introduced himself to me as David.  He was selling newspapers called Street Sense which I have previously written about.   This vendor was middle-aged and friendly but not in an aggressive way.  He was just talking to people and smiling, letting them know that his newspaper was for sale and that he was a writer.… Read More

50th Anniversary of March on Washington

August 28th, 2013
Posted By:

“Our goal was not to gain power.  It was to heal a torn-up community.” ~ Diane Judith Nash, a civil rights leader Marching for your human rights and dignity is healing.  It is an act of restoring faith in yourself and your community. Marching is also rewarding for the human spirit and good for the human soul.  Standing up for your rights confirms for you that you are not alone in your feelings; that others share your thoughts and emotions. Peacefully marching, holding protest signs and delivering passionate speeches gives rise to feelings of respect for those who are declaring,… Read More

A Dose of Kindness

October 5th, 2012
Posted By:

Visiting people who are sick is one of the kindest acts we can ever practice.  Sitting and talking, holding their hand and listening seem so simple to the healthy but those things are so essential in helping the ill know that they matter, that they are not forgotten even though they are no longer able to independently move around. Bringing about a smile or laughter through a funny story is just as important as any medicine prescribed by a doctor.  Laughter, in particular, is a powerful distraction from pain and illness. One of my sisters and her husband are compassionately… Read More

What Would Nana Do?

September 24th, 2012
Posted By:

When life hands me a difficult situation, I think about my Nana and wonder how she would have handled it. My Nana gives me strength and inspiration because she lived a good and simple life. She and my Pop-Pop raised five children (including my mother) during the Depression on as much as $58 a week and for awhile on nothing because my grandfather lost his job.  During the time that there was no paycheck, they lived on canned goods that a relative got for free and and managed to keep their house and continue to feed and clothe their children.… Read More

I’m Sorry

September 18th, 2012
Posted By:

Apologizing strengthens friendships I recently received a card in the mail and I recognized the handwriting right away so I knew before I opened the envelope who the card was from. What I didn’t know was why the card was being sent to me since it wasn’t my birthday and I hadn’t won the lottery so I knew it wasn’t mailed to congratulate me on anything that had happened in my life. I opened the card and read the handwritten words and was surprised and touched!  The card was an apology for something that had happened between us many years… Read More