Reflections

By Trish • April 3rd, 2012

Doctor donates Disney medal to disabled boy for bravery, courage Published in baystateparent magazine When Dr. Ken Abrams, a veterinary ophthalmologist from Rhode Island, completed his first marathon in 2009 —The Disney Marathon — it was magical. He crossed the finish line in 3:34:52, qualifying for Boston, and proudly accepted the Mickey Mouse finisher’s medal that was placed around his neck. The magic didn’t end there. Ken was inspired to donate his Disney medal to Medals4Mettle, an organization that facilitates ..read more

My in-laws are from the old country. They grew up in Germany during World War II on a working farm, in conditions that make our tough economic times look like Mardi Gras. Ellie and Arnold are faithful to their Spartan Lutheran childhood values of spending as little money as possible and never throwing anything away, God forbid. They perfected the art of sustainable living long before it was chic. When they came out to Massachusetts to visit my husband Dave and I for the first time ..read more

“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.” ― Dr. Seuss, Happy Birthday to You! When Theodor Seuss Geisel wrote this saying in the children’s book, Happy Birthday to You! in 1959, he couldn’t have imagined that 53 years later, thousands of people using the social media tool Twitter would “tweet” this “Seussism” — along with many others— on the anniversary of his birthday. Many people paid the prolific tri-syllabic master of prose personal tributes ..read more

Donald Trump, move over.  I have truly perfected the Art of the Deal. While my deals may not be in the mega-millions, they’re big in my eyes. Take my bean deal, for example. A few years ago, Stop and Shop was promoting a $1.00 per item refund on selected Rienzi brand foods, including canned beans. The best part? The beans were on sale for 99 cents. Late that night, I hightailed it to the bean aisle and emptied the shelves of ..read more

Yesterday I skipped church and ran the Mercedes Marathon in Birmingham instead. Yes, I said Birmingham, not Burlington. I had decided to travel to Alabama’s largest city to try to qualify for next year’s Boston Marathon by running 26.2 miles in 4:00 hours or better – my personal BQ (Boston Qualifier). I kept my qualifying quest a secret from most people, because  I knew it sounded crazy, and was afraid if I missed my goal it really would ..read more

I spent a large part of the holiday weekend freezing my bunting off at the New Hampshire Liquor and Wine Outlet in Hampton, New Hampshire. I had volunteered to fundraise for the Alzheimer’s Association, not counting on numbing single-digit temperatures and arctic gales. Standing outside of a liquor store asking for spare change was a few degrees out of my comfort zone. As I drove there the first day, I questioned my commitment and soundness of mind. Ten hours, hundreds of ..read more

The weather outside may have been frightful, but the first peals of Boston’s Old South Meeting House newly-installed Paul Revere Bell were, in a word, delightful. At 12:00 pm on 1/12/2012, the historic Westborough Paul Revere bell rang 12 times. It was the first time in 136 years that a bell has rung out on the hour from Old South. Despite the driving rain and windy weather, dozens of onlookers were there to witness the historic event. “Nearly a hundred thousand ..read more

“What you can do, or dream you can, begin it; boldness has genius, power and magic in it.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe The ball was dropping in Times Square. My champagne flute was in hand. My husband turned to me, looked me lovingly in the eyes and asked, “So, did you make any New Year’s resolutions?” I’m not joking, that’s exactly what he said. “Not a single one,” I replied, raising the glass to my lips. It’s not that I don’t believe ..read more

Published in Atlanta Parent and Central California Parent Panicking over the impending, non-ending list of holiday to-dos? Wait a minute! When did the holidays morph from moments of meaning to pre-holiday months of mania? I used to epitomize the stressed-out holiday mom, snapping at her four kids (No, you can’t change your list to Santa – too late for that!), snagging parking spaces at the mall, risking life and limb (not mine), and frantically Photoshopping my family into an online ..read more

Simple Tips for Simply Fun Birthday Parties Does the thought of planning your child’s next birthday party make you want to celebrate or break out on a cold sweat? Children’s birthday celebrations can easily balloon out of control. Parties are big business, where the birthday guest list often includes Chuck E. Cheese. As kid’s parties get bigger, so do complications, expenses and stress. Your child’s next birthday party shouldn’t require a lot of fuss to be a lot of fun. Here are ..read more