Recently I attended a three-day training to become a facilitator to lead intergroup dialogues planned in the fall at Smith. The issues that will be discussed are on gender, race/ethnicity and class.
I participated in the race/ethnicity group dialogue and I listened to people describe how being a person of color is something they have to deal with everyday. From inappropriate comments such as “Can I touch your head?” or “Does your mother speak English?” to people just being down right nasty. OMG! What planet are these rude folks from?
From the same planet that I live on and that is where the problem lies. My being “white” has never been an issue for me. But it should be. My being white does not give me a free pass to be unaware of what life is like for people of color.
One of the participants mentioned that “being comfortable” in one’s white skin should not be an option. That to “be uncomfortable” would be a way to grow and stretch one’s self. And I agree.
So stay tuned to find out how it feels for me to stretch my skin…
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Monday, June 14, 2010
Lucy & Terry's 3rd Annual Summer Party!
Awesome food, great conversations and lots of dancing! It was a smaller crowd but lots of new people to write about.
Bingo! I found the name of the missing teenager from last year's party (see July 26, 2009 posting). Fran and Dave’s daughter’s name is Aliza! Lovely young woman, we had a very nice conversation about my blog.
Terry & Lucy – I love their parties. My favorite spot is Lucy’s pottery studio. Lucy is very talented and we did own five her creations, after the party, it’s now six! Go to http://www.luciapottery.com. They are down to six chickens from last year’s eight. They had a rooster but he was nasty to Terry and was always attacking her. I heard he was the main contributor to a great tasting soup!
Andrew – Lucy’s 12 year-old son. He still has those awesome eyes that I mentioned in last year’s blog. He danced with his mother and he was very playful with her. One of his dance moves (that boy can dance) he pretended to have a fishing rod and he reeled in Lucy and she played along. It was one of those touching moments shared between a mother and son. Very out-going and one could tell that he was comfortable dancing with us ladies who were all over 30-something plus!
Luke – Lucy’s 15 year-old son. He has an awesome smile. He has a calming way about him. I see great leadership skills in his future.
Andrew – Terry’s 15 year-old son. I have not seen him in years! He has inherited Terry's soul-searching eyes. He also has a sly wicked sense of humor. The makings of a potential comedian?
Matt – son of Mike & Linda who attended last year’s party. Great hair, very thick and slightly curly. He has a great smile and the braces are gone!
???? - the fifth attendee of the boy's club and I didn't get his name. At one point he was on the dance floor with us, what a brave soul!
Josh – friend of Luke’s. When his mother tried reeling him onto the dance floor he leaned over and used a scissors-like motion! What a hoot!
Maddy – sister to Josh. About ten and a budding artist! She made a bouquet of flowers for Lucy out of painted plastic spoons. I’m thinking of “borrowing” her idea to sell at the shop. I made have to give her royalties!
Barb – charming mother of Josh and Maddy. I told her Mary’s story about the car accident and she showed so much concern and empathy. She is definitely someone I’d like to have as a friend.
Dave – husband to Fran, father to Aliza. They live across the way from Lucy & Terry. And, he is the keeper of the Green River.
Fran – wife to Dave and mother to Aliza.
Molly – is also a professional potter and colleague of Lucy’s. Go to http://www.phlaunt.com/mollypots/. She works a lot with black and white designs. We shared the dance floor and she still dances like Ellen DeGeneres! Meaning she has a smooth unique funky way of expressing herself through music.
Mary – a pottery student of Lucy’s. We had a wonderful chat and I entertained her with stories of my four dogs. We discussed the name “Mary” and that very few women under the age of 30-something have that name.
Gail – a pottery student of Lucy’s. A member of the big-girls pottery group.
Dawn – a pottery student of Lucy’s and part of the big-girls pottery group.
????? – she too is a member of the big-girls pottery group. Didn’t get her name or her husbands. She’s famous for her clay piece of a chicken butt roaster! It has a cone in the center where the chicken is in impaled and beer sits in the cone. At some point it makes contact and is suppose to add lots of flavor.
Evie (sp?) and her husband – she too is a student of Lucy’s. She is making a video for a local T.V. station in Greenfield about a book she wrote. I just didn’t have the opportunity to get more info and I wished I had!
John – husband to Mary Ellen and grandfather to the neighborhood kids. Retired but teaches to students wanting to master the English language.
Mary Ellen – wife to John and grandmother to the neighborhood kids. I didn’t have a chance to speak to her which was a disappointment.
And last our Karen – lives across from Lucy & Terry’s, and a wonderful friend of ours for over five years now.
Another great party had with Lucy, Terry and all their family and friends. I am so looking forward to their 4th annual summer party!
Bingo! I found the name of the missing teenager from last year's party (see July 26, 2009 posting). Fran and Dave’s daughter’s name is Aliza! Lovely young woman, we had a very nice conversation about my blog.
Terry & Lucy – I love their parties. My favorite spot is Lucy’s pottery studio. Lucy is very talented and we did own five her creations, after the party, it’s now six! Go to http://www.luciapottery.com. They are down to six chickens from last year’s eight. They had a rooster but he was nasty to Terry and was always attacking her. I heard he was the main contributor to a great tasting soup!
Andrew – Lucy’s 12 year-old son. He still has those awesome eyes that I mentioned in last year’s blog. He danced with his mother and he was very playful with her. One of his dance moves (that boy can dance) he pretended to have a fishing rod and he reeled in Lucy and she played along. It was one of those touching moments shared between a mother and son. Very out-going and one could tell that he was comfortable dancing with us ladies who were all over 30-something plus!
Luke – Lucy’s 15 year-old son. He has an awesome smile. He has a calming way about him. I see great leadership skills in his future.
Andrew – Terry’s 15 year-old son. I have not seen him in years! He has inherited Terry's soul-searching eyes. He also has a sly wicked sense of humor. The makings of a potential comedian?
Matt – son of Mike & Linda who attended last year’s party. Great hair, very thick and slightly curly. He has a great smile and the braces are gone!
???? - the fifth attendee of the boy's club and I didn't get his name. At one point he was on the dance floor with us, what a brave soul!
Josh – friend of Luke’s. When his mother tried reeling him onto the dance floor he leaned over and used a scissors-like motion! What a hoot!
Maddy – sister to Josh. About ten and a budding artist! She made a bouquet of flowers for Lucy out of painted plastic spoons. I’m thinking of “borrowing” her idea to sell at the shop. I made have to give her royalties!
Barb – charming mother of Josh and Maddy. I told her Mary’s story about the car accident and she showed so much concern and empathy. She is definitely someone I’d like to have as a friend.
Dave – husband to Fran, father to Aliza. They live across the way from Lucy & Terry. And, he is the keeper of the Green River.
Fran – wife to Dave and mother to Aliza.
Molly – is also a professional potter and colleague of Lucy’s. Go to http://www.phlaunt.com/mollypots/. She works a lot with black and white designs. We shared the dance floor and she still dances like Ellen DeGeneres! Meaning she has a smooth unique funky way of expressing herself through music.
Mary – a pottery student of Lucy’s. We had a wonderful chat and I entertained her with stories of my four dogs. We discussed the name “Mary” and that very few women under the age of 30-something have that name.
Gail – a pottery student of Lucy’s. A member of the big-girls pottery group.
Dawn – a pottery student of Lucy’s and part of the big-girls pottery group.
????? – she too is a member of the big-girls pottery group. Didn’t get her name or her husbands. She’s famous for her clay piece of a chicken butt roaster! It has a cone in the center where the chicken is in impaled and beer sits in the cone. At some point it makes contact and is suppose to add lots of flavor.
Evie (sp?) and her husband – she too is a student of Lucy’s. She is making a video for a local T.V. station in Greenfield about a book she wrote. I just didn’t have the opportunity to get more info and I wished I had!
John – husband to Mary Ellen and grandfather to the neighborhood kids. Retired but teaches to students wanting to master the English language.
Mary Ellen – wife to John and grandmother to the neighborhood kids. I didn’t have a chance to speak to her which was a disappointment.
And last our Karen – lives across from Lucy & Terry’s, and a wonderful friend of ours for over five years now.
Another great party had with Lucy, Terry and all their family and friends. I am so looking forward to their 4th annual summer party!
Saturday, May 22, 2010
My Summer Plans
Well, another year at Smith is coming to an end and starting June 7th, I will be off for nine whole weeks. Which sounds wonderful but nine weeks without a paycheck? Yikes! This is my fifth summer of being available, so you’d think I would be a pro at figuring out summer employment. Really, who wants to hire someone for two months? Plus in today’s employment market finding any kind of job is a miracle.
This is what I have planned for my summer. I still have my year-round Saturday position as a receptionist at The Jones Group, www.JonesRealtors.com. For the past year I have been creating jewelry, earrings and bracelets with magnetic clasps. I use a variety of bead types: glass, plastic beads made in the 60’s, gemstones such as amethyst, garnets, wood, and so on. My jewelry is being sold at Nonotuck Arts Emporium which is located at 98 Union St., Easthampton, MA., phone is 413-527-1025. I am also going to work part-time there which should be fun!
Also, during the summer months is when I have the opportunity to spend time in the yard working on the many gardens I’ve created over the past five years. So I should stay out of trouble for the summer. I wish it was that simple the rest of the year!!
More later,
YFD
This is what I have planned for my summer. I still have my year-round Saturday position as a receptionist at The Jones Group, www.JonesRealtors.com. For the past year I have been creating jewelry, earrings and bracelets with magnetic clasps. I use a variety of bead types: glass, plastic beads made in the 60’s, gemstones such as amethyst, garnets, wood, and so on. My jewelry is being sold at Nonotuck Arts Emporium which is located at 98 Union St., Easthampton, MA., phone is 413-527-1025. I am also going to work part-time there which should be fun!
Also, during the summer months is when I have the opportunity to spend time in the yard working on the many gardens I’ve created over the past five years. So I should stay out of trouble for the summer. I wish it was that simple the rest of the year!!
More later,
YFD
Monday, December 7, 2009
Christmas Vespers at Smith
Every year Smith College holds “Christmas Vespers” on the first Sunday of December. The Smith College Orchestra, Chorus, Glee Club and the Handbell Choir all participate. Also, there are readers who read the scripture lessons. And last night at the 7:30 p.m. service I was a reader! I read Isaiah 9:2-7. And I rocked! I hit it on the mark. When I sat down, Elizabeth the next reader, told me that I did a great job and that since I set the bar it was going to be a challenge. By the way, she did an awesome job!
I spoke clearly, kept the rhythm going so the lesson read as a story. And let me tell you that section of Isaiah is not an easy one to understand. Such as “Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.” Sounds like they need serious therapy and a trip to Big Y!
By the way, Jennifer Walters, Dean of Religious Life, mentioned in our rehearsal that this very public event is the only one with such a religious tone held at Smith. Even I was surprised when we all said “The Lord’s Prayer.” Especially from a place where I can’t decorate my desk with Christmas items because it isn’t politically correct.
So instead of saying “Happy Holidays” I wish you a very Merry Christmas and may all your days be filled with visions of presents from Santa Claus!
I spoke clearly, kept the rhythm going so the lesson read as a story. And let me tell you that section of Isaiah is not an easy one to understand. Such as “Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.” Sounds like they need serious therapy and a trip to Big Y!
By the way, Jennifer Walters, Dean of Religious Life, mentioned in our rehearsal that this very public event is the only one with such a religious tone held at Smith. Even I was surprised when we all said “The Lord’s Prayer.” Especially from a place where I can’t decorate my desk with Christmas items because it isn’t politically correct.
So instead of saying “Happy Holidays” I wish you a very Merry Christmas and may all your days be filled with visions of presents from Santa Claus!
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Gone to the dogs....
I didn't become a dog owner until I was 50. By then I had figured out that after 44 years of being owned by cats and 31 years of dating or being married to men that I liked woman and dogs much better.
If I had known how amazing it was to experience unconditional love from a four-legged furry mass of love, I would have had less ex-husbands which would of been good for all involved.
After a long day of working I come home to a welcome committee at the kitchen door. Chloe walks up to me with her latest favorite toy of the moment to show me what she has. Fast Eddie and Chancey are bouncing and making funky little sounds at me. Heaven!
Now having four dogs ranging from barely furry at 30 lbs. to extremely furry at 55 lbs. isn't without its drama and lots of work to maintain them, our house and our sanity. Tyler Noel is the fourth dog and not ours but he is with us every day and has a occasional sleep over with us.
So an average day consists of walking them for about a mile (thanks Mary), feeding them twice a day which is drama in itself. I could write an entire posting on that alone. Letting them in and out to go pee, to bark at passing motorcycles (thanks Chancey), to howl(a group event) at Yogi, our neighborhood black bear. Breaking up fights on whose toy that belongs to at that moment in time. Which means yelling over and over at Fast Eddie because he is our trouble maker and bully of the group. Trying not to break your neck as you step on Mr. Dinosaur (hard plastic with sharp spikes) and the story goes on and on.
I can't believe the amount of dog laundry we do each week. There are dog towels to wipe off their muddy feet when returning from the dog park. There are throws to protect and cover the couch and beds. There are blankets that we wrap ourselves in while watching TV while the dogs lie on top of us. Then there are the blankets that each dog gets covered with at bedtime. Oh, did I mention that Fast Eddie doesn't like to experience cold or rain so he has an assortment of dog coats he can choose from.
Today is a great example. While at my Saturday part-time job, I get a call from Mary. Fast Eddie just came in from outside stinking of something he rolled in and part of it is smeared on his leg. Minutes later he promptly throws up large quantities of grass all over our living rug. So between giving him a bath and cleaning up the carpet more towels that will have need to be cleaned.
It is now 7:30 p.m. and all is quite in doggie land, I’m going to go watch a DVD and lounge with them before letting them out at 10 p.m. for one more pee. Then each one gets a night night treat which means making sure that Fast Eddie doesn’t eat Chancey’s treat. Then they all get tucked in and everything is quite until something goes bump in the night.
More later…
If I had known how amazing it was to experience unconditional love from a four-legged furry mass of love, I would have had less ex-husbands which would of been good for all involved.
After a long day of working I come home to a welcome committee at the kitchen door. Chloe walks up to me with her latest favorite toy of the moment to show me what she has. Fast Eddie and Chancey are bouncing and making funky little sounds at me. Heaven!
Now having four dogs ranging from barely furry at 30 lbs. to extremely furry at 55 lbs. isn't without its drama and lots of work to maintain them, our house and our sanity. Tyler Noel is the fourth dog and not ours but he is with us every day and has a occasional sleep over with us.
So an average day consists of walking them for about a mile (thanks Mary), feeding them twice a day which is drama in itself. I could write an entire posting on that alone. Letting them in and out to go pee, to bark at passing motorcycles (thanks Chancey), to howl(a group event) at Yogi, our neighborhood black bear. Breaking up fights on whose toy that belongs to at that moment in time. Which means yelling over and over at Fast Eddie because he is our trouble maker and bully of the group. Trying not to break your neck as you step on Mr. Dinosaur (hard plastic with sharp spikes) and the story goes on and on.
I can't believe the amount of dog laundry we do each week. There are dog towels to wipe off their muddy feet when returning from the dog park. There are throws to protect and cover the couch and beds. There are blankets that we wrap ourselves in while watching TV while the dogs lie on top of us. Then there are the blankets that each dog gets covered with at bedtime. Oh, did I mention that Fast Eddie doesn't like to experience cold or rain so he has an assortment of dog coats he can choose from.
Today is a great example. While at my Saturday part-time job, I get a call from Mary. Fast Eddie just came in from outside stinking of something he rolled in and part of it is smeared on his leg. Minutes later he promptly throws up large quantities of grass all over our living rug. So between giving him a bath and cleaning up the carpet more towels that will have need to be cleaned.
It is now 7:30 p.m. and all is quite in doggie land, I’m going to go watch a DVD and lounge with them before letting them out at 10 p.m. for one more pee. Then each one gets a night night treat which means making sure that Fast Eddie doesn’t eat Chancey’s treat. Then they all get tucked in and everything is quite until something goes bump in the night.
More later…
Friday, November 20, 2009
I'm back to posting.....
Good Morning!
I have already been up for more than two hours doing some of my morning chores: paperwork, picking up dog toys in the living room and more dog toys down the hall, doing laundry, folding it (3 loads), tidying up around the house, riding my in-door bike about 2.5 miles and so on. And this is also the time period when I have a chance to think about what is happening in my life. And a new addition to my morning routine, is praying.
Praying is a new thing for me. I’ve been searching for a religion and a church since I was seven years old. At that time we lived on a military base in Lincoln, Nebraska. I would go up to complete strangers and say “What Church do you go to?” they would tell me and I would say “What time will you pick me up on Sunday?” Let me tell you I saw some beautiful churches that way. Didn’t find God but the hunt was on…and would continue for many years.
I found God in my teens but not a Church that I wanted to grow old in. Well, I’ve finally found it in All Saints’ Episcopal in South Hadley, Massachusetts. The way they have accepted Mary and I with open arms has been truly amazing. The result of their love is that we are both very actively involved with in the Church. So much so that when I have too much to do, which is often, I just volunteer Mary to do it. She is now teaching Sunday School, she helped with the weeding and mulching this past summer, and she was a great help at the Columbus Day Food & Tag Sale Extravaganza. The joke running around at Church these days is “Great to see you Mary, what did Sharon volunteer you for now?”
So back to prayer. It really is a wonderful source of comfort to me. I’m not the type to ask God for parking places or to keep the light green until I can make it through the intersection. I am getting into the habit of asking for his guidance and wisdom for the day I face ahead of me. Plus I pray for any of my peeps who are experiencing trouble in their lives whether it be illness, the death of a loved one, unemployment etc.
Well my time is up. I've got to move on with my day, hopefully more thoughts tomorrow.
I have already been up for more than two hours doing some of my morning chores: paperwork, picking up dog toys in the living room and more dog toys down the hall, doing laundry, folding it (3 loads), tidying up around the house, riding my in-door bike about 2.5 miles and so on. And this is also the time period when I have a chance to think about what is happening in my life. And a new addition to my morning routine, is praying.
Praying is a new thing for me. I’ve been searching for a religion and a church since I was seven years old. At that time we lived on a military base in Lincoln, Nebraska. I would go up to complete strangers and say “What Church do you go to?” they would tell me and I would say “What time will you pick me up on Sunday?” Let me tell you I saw some beautiful churches that way. Didn’t find God but the hunt was on…and would continue for many years.
I found God in my teens but not a Church that I wanted to grow old in. Well, I’ve finally found it in All Saints’ Episcopal in South Hadley, Massachusetts. The way they have accepted Mary and I with open arms has been truly amazing. The result of their love is that we are both very actively involved with in the Church. So much so that when I have too much to do, which is often, I just volunteer Mary to do it. She is now teaching Sunday School, she helped with the weeding and mulching this past summer, and she was a great help at the Columbus Day Food & Tag Sale Extravaganza. The joke running around at Church these days is “Great to see you Mary, what did Sharon volunteer you for now?”
So back to prayer. It really is a wonderful source of comfort to me. I’m not the type to ask God for parking places or to keep the light green until I can make it through the intersection. I am getting into the habit of asking for his guidance and wisdom for the day I face ahead of me. Plus I pray for any of my peeps who are experiencing trouble in their lives whether it be illness, the death of a loved one, unemployment etc.
Well my time is up. I've got to move on with my day, hopefully more thoughts tomorrow.
Friday, August 21, 2009
What is Attitude?
Norman Vincent Peale was a believer that focusing one's positive thoughts was one of ways to having a happy and successful life.
I agree with that. I have a tendency to think a lot of negative thoughts and unfortunately they happen. I keep trying to change that by working on thinking positive thoughts insted. I've noticed that the response time to happy thoughts is much slower than negative thoughts. Wonder why that is?
Below are other people's thoughts on living a positive life, enjoy reading!
The longer I live, the more I realize the
impact of attitude on life.
Attitude, to me, is more important than facts.
It is more important than the past,
than education, than money, than
circumstances, than failures, than success,
than what other people think or say or do.
It is more important than appearance,
giftedness or skill.
It will make or break a company,
a church, a home.
The remarkable thing is we have a choice
everyday regarding the attitude we will
embrace for that day.
We cannot change our past…
we cannot change the fact that people will
act in a certain way.
We cannot change the inevitable.
The only thing we can do is play on the one
string we have, and that is our attitude…
I am convinced that life is 10% what
happens to me and 90% how I react to it.
And so it is with you…
-Charles Swindoll-
Nothing has any meaning in life except the meaning we give it.
-Tony Robbins-
Attitudes are more important than facts.
-Karl Menniger-
There is nothing good or bad, but thinking makes it so.
-William Shakespeare-
On of the nice things about problems is that a good
many of them don’t exist except in our imaginations.
-Steve Allen-
Experience is not what happens to a man; it is
what a man does with what happens to him
-Aldous Huxley-
I agree with that. I have a tendency to think a lot of negative thoughts and unfortunately they happen. I keep trying to change that by working on thinking positive thoughts insted. I've noticed that the response time to happy thoughts is much slower than negative thoughts. Wonder why that is?
Below are other people's thoughts on living a positive life, enjoy reading!
The longer I live, the more I realize the
impact of attitude on life.
Attitude, to me, is more important than facts.
It is more important than the past,
than education, than money, than
circumstances, than failures, than success,
than what other people think or say or do.
It is more important than appearance,
giftedness or skill.
It will make or break a company,
a church, a home.
The remarkable thing is we have a choice
everyday regarding the attitude we will
embrace for that day.
We cannot change our past…
we cannot change the fact that people will
act in a certain way.
We cannot change the inevitable.
The only thing we can do is play on the one
string we have, and that is our attitude…
I am convinced that life is 10% what
happens to me and 90% how I react to it.
And so it is with you…
-Charles Swindoll-
Nothing has any meaning in life except the meaning we give it.
-Tony Robbins-
Attitudes are more important than facts.
-Karl Menniger-
There is nothing good or bad, but thinking makes it so.
-William Shakespeare-
On of the nice things about problems is that a good
many of them don’t exist except in our imaginations.
-Steve Allen-
Experience is not what happens to a man; it is
what a man does with what happens to him
-Aldous Huxley-
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