“Ich bin ein Berliner.” President John F. Kennedy gave an historic speech on June 26, 1963, to a crowd in front of the Berlin Wall. Two years earlier the Soviet Union had built this wall to keep people from fleeing to non-Communist countries, mainly West Berlin, and Kennedy was praising the character of the people… Read More
Do I affirm or condemn?
Is there anyone who doesn’t like to be affirmed about who they are or what they have accomplished? Honest expressions of affirmation feed us. We affirm babies without even thinking about it. Even when they don’t yet understand our words, our tone and mannerisms come through when we say things like “What a beautiful smile… Read More
Cleaning out the fridge
After listening to me whine about having to clean out the fridge–there were fuzzy things growing in containers in the back–a coworker told me a way that she avoided that job altogether. Every evening as she does the supper dishes, she goes through one shelf in her refrigerator, checking the viability of the leftovers and… Read More
Senior coffee
It happened earlier this month in Georgia. I was given a “senior coffee” without requesting it. I didn’t realize it until I was sitting at the table eating and glanced at the ticket. My husband laughed and said, “Saved us some change.” My reaction was totally different. I spent a few extra minutes in the… Read More
“I’m sorry.” How do you say it?
“I’m sorry.” Do you take this phrase for granted or are you dying to hear it from the lips of someone you share your life with? I was greatly distressed that these words were missing from the vocabulary of someone close to me. After listening to me whine about it (multiple times), a wise woman… Read More
Seriously?
Why ask for feedback if you are not going to take it seriously? This is the beginning line I use on myself every time I sit down to work on the hard task of rewriting my novel. Writing a book takes creativity, yes, but so much more than that. It takes big-picture thinking combined with… Read More
Insatiable Self
Every person in the human race is born with a condition I call insatiable self: “It’s all about me.” As we grow in age and stature, we add another sentence: “It’s all about me. It’s never enough.” Hopefully, the maturation process brings the realization that everything doesn’t revolve around the earth, but the earth orbits… Read More
Kathleen S Evenhouse 