“Be careful what you put in your mind” my dad used to say. He was talking about introducing negative or mean or bad thoughts to your mind - because our wonderful and amazing brains have the ability to obsess and fret. It’s a fact (at least in my life) that...
Yesterday our new Nutrition Services Director for ISH came to meet the staff. Suffice it to say prior to the meeting there was a lot of angst and fear of what he would be like and if he even existed. I feel after both meetings in Belmond and Clarion, the...
Holly and I were going back and forth from my office area to our then department, “Adult Day Care” (it’s where Accounts Payable is now) to watch the TV as the towers were going down. I remember it clearly. I remember calling my mom - who was battling cancer at...
I made it through the first senior recognition night for Shaila at the football game two weeks ago. I am really trying to enjoy this year and spend my “moments” wisely. I know without a doubt that how this year goes for me depends on my attitude and how I...
I was in Des Moines with long-term friends this past weekend. I laughed to the point of tears several times - this doesn’t happen enough. A lot of our stories we told this weekend were from school days or when we were just starting out. Back then, none of us...
Yesterday I, along with other senior leaders and Sara Goemaat, attended the funeral of Amy McDaniel’s father-in-law. It was a beautiful ceremony honoring the life of a true family man. Chuck McDaniel’s life was very impressive. Equally impressive, however, was the fact that Amy’s twin boys (Andrew and Jacob) performed...
“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, a time to reap that which is planted”* It’s a tumultuous time of year; the start of school, harvest, births, deaths...
Where did the summer go? As the Iowa State Fair winds down, vacations come to an end, and school begins, I think about how quickly summer seemed to fly by. In our family our summers are spent participating in Farmers Markets, going to county and state fairs and trying to...
There’s this “calming” thing on my watch where I need to take deep breaths and settle myself. I’m supposed to keep the green background and stars flying - according to the watch. I failed. I almost hyperventilated breathing deep. It’s like golf for me - the most stressed I ever...
I am Missouri this week visiting relatives and spending time with my family. We ventured to Hannibal one day to explore, and while dining at a restaurant the waitress shared that my children were well behaved and had great manners. This always takes me back a step because as a...
