As we speed swiftly toward year’s end, it will be important to pause, reflect, and bask in what we know and all we have learned this year. Trust me, you know more than you realize though sometimes we get so busy being busy that we don’t profit from our mistakes and/or apply what we learned to become our best selves.
You already know that celebrating my birthday is one of the reasons I love November so much, however, this month is full of reasons to celebrate—Veterans Day, All Saints Day, World Kindness Day– and one of my favorite, but oft overlooked crown jewels is Thanksgiving.
Whatever baby boomers do, though I technically fall in that category, don’t count me in it. First off, I don’t like labels and Baby Boomers has been one of my least favorites since it made its debut years ago. Secondly, labeling gives folks an opportunity to judge me and my book by the cover without taking time to know who I really am.
My 41-year old daughter said her 12-year-old daughter replied with this “OK Boomer,” term last week. Of course, she had to explain it to me. Younger generations—Millennials, GenXers, etc., use it when older people say things that are old-fashioned, outdated, or judgmental, and an eye roll comes with it for maximum effect.
I’m not always up on who’s hot and who’s not but when four-time Grammy winner Drake got booed by an audience Sunday because they were disappointed, he, and not Frank Ocean, was the surprise opening act, I am dumb-founded. Drake, a gifted performer, has been described as “the bestselling rapper of the decade,” and “top selling solo male artist in American history” by entertainment sources, was also taken aback by the crowd’s reaction, but cut his performance short, politely thanked the crowd, and left the stage.
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness…” – Charles Dickens, from A Tale of Two Cities
I planned to end this quote at “it was the worst of times,” but I realized that much of what’s going on these days is foolishness, and wisdom doesn’t seem to be part of the discussion. The late Congressman Elijah Cummings often said “We are better than this,” and dadgummit, it’s high time we started acting like it.
Yes, this is the last week in October and while we don’t want to think about how many days before Thanksgiving and Christmas, it’s time we start preparing for the last 30-60 days of the year. It seems like it was just July 4th and Memorial Day last week, nevertheless time marches on and it waits for no one. Please allow me to share a few helpful tips for the rest of 2019:
As October meanders to a close, breast cancer awareness is at the top of my mind but this year I want to also include the topic of overall health and wellness. Here are four things we should know and remember:
October is National Clergy Appreciation Month and I’m delighted that somebody thought this was important! No, I am not a clergyperson but I have a front-row seat to the one who lives in my home. For more than 35 years in ministry we have loved sharing births, deaths, marriages, divorces, family reunions, and everything in between with some of the most amazing people on the planet.
Awareness is a powerful thing. It presumes that there are things we don’t know and so long as we don’t know, we don’t have to do anything about whatever it is we don’t know. The presumption is once we know more, our new knowledge will prompt us to act and react in a different kind of way. That is my prayer this October, Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
Pretend songwriters Edward Pola and George Wyle were talking about autumn instead of Christmas when they wrote “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.” No, we’re not ready to go sledding or sing carols, but if there’s another season more impressive than autumn, take a moment please and tell me what it is.
The scenery is stunning and perfect for driving country roads and stopping at pumpkin patches. I love how in spring all the leaves are green but in autumn, the fall colors are absolutely breathtaking. The temperatures are cooler, great new television shows begin—it’s like hog heaven!