What are you celebrating? Unable to gather in large groups, perhaps, like me, you’ve lost track of celebration. Yet even when we don’t feel like raising a glass there are multiple reasons to do so. Completing a work day, connecting with a friend on a phone call and sitting down to dinner represent good fortune worthy … Read more
Beneath a huge sky in the backseat of “Cream Puff”, our silver sedan, and sitting with no where to go, my body slowly began to relax. The only available movement was exercising my eyesight to look out the window. With each breath every muscle in my body seemed to slacken. My lungs repeatedly exhaled involuntarily, expunging stress from … Read more
How do you resolve the idea of little human contact when providing hospitality? Hotels, cruise lines and tour operators are searching for answers to this question. The question is analogous to the yearning of wanting to hug a friend but having to hold back…so NOT natural! To distance ourselves we’ve relied on technology. Just … Read more
Just recently multiple friends (re-)discovered their backyards. According to a July 14th Wall Street Journal article, forty-six percent of consumers “said they did a landscaping, gardening or outdoor-living update in the last three months.”* Yes, we can connect and feel enthusiastic Close To Home! We can cultivate trust with our neighbors! Who said we have … Read more
No hugging, cheek kissing or hand shaking allowed. Yes, our social skills are a little rusty. Yes, there’s an underlying feeling of uncertainty (less when people wear face masks). Yet even in a socially- distanced way, physically being in the same space with another offers relief. Nothing can replace physical presence. Now we … Read more
As young children my brother and I worked with a speech therapist on articulation. These sessions with Mrs. Philips represent some of my earliest memories as a child. Walking to the front door of a small white Colonial house, holding Henry’s hand, and spending many hours exercising our lips, we learned to speak clearly. Sometimes … Read more
“Recognize The Seeds We Sow” Now -(Fred Mandell, Becoming a Life Change Artist) Do you know the phrase, “We’re right where we’re suppose to be”? This truism is irritating especially as we’re confined to our homes. Home isn’t necessarily where we want to be! Yet, here we are, faced with showing up … Read more
Recently a friend visited who had traveled on an airplane to Colorado. “It was alarming. Everyone on the plane wore a face mask.”* For the next two hours dinner conversation focused on the possible impact of the Coronavirus. You name it; we imagined it, every scary scenario. Our minds wandered the universe! Thoughts hijacked rational … Read more
There was a book and in this book was a description of a room. And, in the description of this room was a gentle nudging to enjoy the space and the place. Yes, a whole beautiful flip book sharing everything about the sleeping quarters for the next few nights and the destination. No plastic portfolio … Read more
Especially since my work is in Wellness Travel, it’s embarrassing…why must so much stuff come with me on almost every trip? Is there a broader implication around this material attachment? Husband Jay can attest: my packing skills need improvement. Suitcases bulge! Big bags partly reflect the last minute nature of organizing myself. A little … Read more