Fully Present Post 50

I’ve spent my life being on the receiving side of an abuse of power by males. Admittedly, there is little I have done to hold my abusers accountable and I feel a degree of shame behind it.  Until now, my response has been to acknowledge the abuse is happening and then to either cut and run or bear the pain of the situation in silence.  Perhaps my behavior is what it is because the cost of holding the abuser accountable is too high.  I think a lot of women can relate. Continue reading “Abuse of Power”

On this most holy and hopeful of days, Resurrection Day, my only thought for this post is that people of good will can use the day to celebrate not only that Christ has risen (as Christians believe), but that His teachings can also rise again. Continue reading “Resurrection Day Hopes”

We all make mistakes.  We make them because we are perfectly human.  But a work colleague and I both noticed that the frequency of human errors that affect our daily lives have become so frequent as to be more than merely annoying, but a bit scary.  I have to challenge the work habits of many in the workforce today.  It is not okay to adopt a cavalier attitude about mistakes.  The massive amount of errors supports the claim of employers that it’s difficult to find good help these days. I write this week’s post at the behest of my work colleague.  Continue reading “To Error is Human”

I love my job because I get to spend my days with college students.  I love their energy, their enthusiasm, and their general idealism.   These days, college professors and administrators are taking a lot of heat from the public for what some say is coddling or overprotection in the form of safe zones, trigger warnings, and a focus on micro-aggressions. Our critics say that we aren’t allowing students to learn how to deal with adversity.  I wonder if we haven’t gone too far in our desire to create a welcoming and inclusive campus climate. Continue reading “Studentsensitivity”

Insurance wouldn’t cover  it, so I forked over $206 for a Shingles vaccine at my annual physical this week because I had the money. Having the money substantially decreases the probability that I would fall victim to that painful, scaring, and scary looking disease called Shingles that can cause permanent nerve damage.  But what about the man or woman who doesn’t have $206 lying around?  Should prudent healthcare continue to be a privilege rather than a right? Continue reading “I’m for Single Payer Healthcare”

I love springtime.  It is by far my favorite time of the year. I love the blooming flowers, the cool weather, and the green hillsides.  For someone who loves spring as much as me, it seems peculiar that I wasn’t born or even conceived in the spring.  The coming of spring holds a special promise of hope, life and renewal.  Maybe I love spring because all my children were born in the spring.  Graduation ceremonies happen in the spring.  Spring also brings with it a special set of transitional tasks that I fully embrace every year. Continue reading “Springtime”

I stood there in silent shock and dismay as I was introduced to a group of people by someone I had just recently met.  And by recently, I mean we had been working together for a few months.  The introduction beyond my name and title included a bizarre reference to my beautiful singing voice.  I would have been fine with that as it was meant to be a compliment, except for a few minor details.  Continue reading “Known and Loved Chapel Talk”

Last November my two brothers and I celebrated the fact that we had officially outlived our parents.  Then one of my brothers had a massive cerebral hemorrhage Sunday, February 19 and died on Tuesday, February 21.  He had been proclaimed brain dead that Sunday and was placed on life support to give his children the opportunity to say their “goodbyes”.  Once my nephew arrived Monday night from D.C., he passed on his own. Continue reading “Dealing with Death”

Most people have lied at least once in their lives.  I know I’ve lied to avoid hurting someone’s feelings: “Yes, I like your new haircut.” I’ve lied to avoid embarrassment: “I wonder where that awful smell is coming from?” I’ve lied to avoid getting into trouble: “I don’t know who broke the vase.” I’ve even lied to prove a point: “I got that fact from the encyclopedia.” But like most of you, I’ve put away the childish act of lying and found ways to effectively  to avoid telling uncomfortable truths.  These days, any misrepresentations of the truth are actually honest lapses in my memory.  I’d like to think that if I were to tell a lie today, it would be to protect someone’s life, like the courageous Corrie Ten Boom who hid Jews from the Nazis as depicted in the movie, “The Hiding Place”.  But these days, adults who should be role models are lying like crazy and without consequence.  These folks are using made up terms for their lying like “alternative facts” or “misspoken words” or “my opinion”.  When did espousing false facts or lying become acceptable?  In the country I hope to leave to the next generation, it is not acceptable!  Continue reading “To Tell the Truth”