Summer Fun

Yes.....I said it. Summer! After a pretty chilly Spring.....I am already jumping into the next season which assures us of hot weather and fun activities!

I don't have a lot of firm plans for the Summer. I have several Indiana Fever games lined up and that's about it. I am more excited about taking advantage of what Cincinnati has to offer downtown. There are so many new things going on down there - Party's in the Park, events on Fountain Square, Pride Week, Red's baseball, brand spankin new restaurants and a lively Over the Rhine area - just to name a few.

If you have never been to Cincinnati and don't declare it as one of your tourist destinations, then why not try it the next time you have to take a training class somewhere? The city has been revitalized and you will be pleasantly surprised at what you will experience.

One of those experiences is Over The Rhine. I gotta say.....ten years ago I would have steered you far and wide of that area if you were new here. Poverty and crime were rampant and it just wasn't somewhere you wanted to be if you got lost and had to ask for directions. These days though it is quite the opposite. One of the main draws is Findley Market. Now FM isn't new......it has been there for decades as the local farmers market. In fact I am quite sure that my great-great grandparents probably shopped there when they lived on Green Street. It is quite the market today - not only selling fresh fruits and vegetables (I don't buy Brussels Sprouts from anywhere else) but a wide selection of meats and fish, prepared foods, spices, honey and baked goods. Surrounding FM are some great restaurants and stores offering everything from cookies to beer/wine tastings. It is very easy to kill two hours down there with everything they have to offer! And it is easy to get to from the main city area.......

So what are your Summer plans? Hanging close to home? Taking that dream vacation? There are just so many days of Summer ahead - choose wisely and have fun!

WTR Tips

While my blog is not based on the "formalities" of the networking of rooms, this article is a good read for those of us who have networking opportunities as part of our jobs.

100 Tips for Working the Room

Forward Motion

My life lately has been all about the motion of moving forward.

Keep moving....don't stop....can't stop....keep breathing....keep eating......try to sleep well.....eyes straight ahead.....move along little doggy.....

It is the approach that I have taken in my personal life. I don't have time to look back and reflect nor do I have the time to waste energy on things that are simply going nowhere. I am well aware of the type of people I need in my life and I want someone to be there full time to slow me down, assist with my breathing while I keep moving forward in this marathon that I am running. As I have said before, I am not a runner by nature so a good supporting cast is hugely important to my life. It takes commitment to run a marathon and a relationship is a marathon not a sprint.

My father keeps my eyes looking forward. I have had to take control of all aspects of his life to ensure that things keep moving forward in his life. He is battling with his dementia meds at the moment and the doctors are switching out medicinal recipes to see what the best fit is for him. Once that is in check, he can go back to the nursing home. It's been about four weeks of "balancing" and I am eager for him to regain some normalcy to his life. The nursing home is the new normal and it is one that will support him until his final days on this earth. His struggle becomes my struggle. I have spent the last four weeks going through his house in clean up mode. Discarding years (and I mean years) of invoices and tax documents....cleaning out closets and making sense of his garage that contains a lifetime of plumbing tools. With a little help from some knowledgeable friends who know a few more things about tools, my garage sale was a success this past weekend. It was picked clean of things that any handy man or contractor would value. I had a twinge of sadness in regards to the sale - a lifetime of work all summed up in boxes laying out on sawhorses to be picked through by those who didn't know how hard my Dad worked over the years. "It has to be done" I told myself and I moved on from those feelings. The next leg in the race - the house will be put on the market.

Keep moving....don't stop....can't stop....keep breathing....one step in front of the other.....

I keep pressing forward. Summer is right around the corner. I am going out with friends and making new friends. I am making plans for a nice "breakdown" vacation away at the end of Summer so I can just "be". This is what my life is about these days. I am caught up in each moment that comes my way and working with that moment when it arises. Don't get me wrong.....it has not been all gloomy moments. Some moments have been surprisingly sweet and fun and those are the moments that bring me back to the best part of myself and recharge me as I move forward.