Blog or white ... because it never is.

I love April Fools Day.  Of course, growing up, everyday was April Fool's Day in our house.  I was fortunate to grow up in a house of laughter and we were always playing pranks.  My dad had an amazing sense of humour.  He taught me to how to take it as well as how to dish it out.  I can only remember a couple of our April Fool's jokes but I remember always laughing.  The ability to laugh at oneself - I will be forever grateful to my parents for giving me that gift.  The ability to find humour in life, again, I don't know I would have gotten through this game of life without such humour. I think that is why my first marriage didn't work.  He didn't find me funny and I didn't dare even try to play an April Fool's joke on him.   Now, I'm engaged to another man.  When I first met him, he didn't have a great sense of humour.  His blog is called "Struggling to Smile" for a reason.  He spent a great deal of time struggling ...

Two stories caught my attention on the weekend which demonstrate the power of the people.  When we get together, we can really make a difference? First of all, a United Airlines passenger went to twitter after witnessing two teenage girls not being allowed to board because they were wearing leggings.  This was retweeted and spread more rapidly than a tweet about Justin Bieber.  People demanded answers from United.  This seemed so unfair, especially since we have all seen really questionable attire on flights that were actually inappropriate. People are trying to make this a news story, a cause that we can all be behind, but, this is a non-issue. It turns out that these girls were on a "buddy pass" or whatever the term used by United.  They were getting a free flight by being a family/friend of a United employee.  In this case, in order to receive a free flight, they agreed to a certain dress code.  Their fault for not reading the fine print.  Le...

People often ask me how I work with people with dementia?  They perceive that it must be really difficult and think that I must have a great deal of patience.  They think my days are really stressful. Personally, I can't believe how lucky I am that I work with people with dementia.  My work days are very rich and full of joy.   Here are a few reasons why my days are so fulfilling: First of all, I never think that I am working with people with dementia.  I just think that I am working with people.  In fact, many days I wish more people had dementia.  People with a diagnosis of dementia seldom have a hidden agenda and are genuine in their thoughts.  They rarely have an intent to hurt you with their words.  Every day when I am work someone tells me I'm beautiful, and I know they really mean it.  Every day, I get hugs and I know they are sincere expressions of compassion.  It is very fulfilling and I don't know many workplac...

This was the quote of Ralph Smedley, founder of Toastmasters International.  I don't know when he said this but Toastmasters has been around since 1924 and it was shortly after or shortly before that he said this. I thought of this on Thursday when the World Headquarters of Toastmasters tweeted this for throw-back Thursday. Toastmasters is a great organization which is in constant evolution trying to capture the magic formula that will cause the membership to grow.   It actually is growing in Asia and India and the Middle East but has never attracted the membership that it has wanted to in North America.  It used to be known as primarily a Public Speaking organization, then it wanted to be known as a Communication organization, then it wanted to be known by two parallel tracks; Communication and Leadership.  Now, it appears to be wanting to emphasize the leadership aspect as noted in their tag line, "where leaders are made." I have committed to becoming a membe...

I'm under a lot of pressure trying to plan the perfect wedding.  I've been to a lot of weddings over the last few years.  Most of them have been perfect for the couples, and two have been events of perfection.  However, perfect weddings don't always equal perfect marriages.  It's a tricky thing. I think my favorite wedding of all time was one that I never attended. I was sitting in the living room of my friends, Rhonda and Don.  It was a time in my life that contained no joy, a time in my life where I could only express myself with tears, and I time that I thought I would never smile,yet alone laugh, ever again.  I didn't want to be around myself, so it was a true friend that would want my company for a whole evening. The evening was going as predicted.  I was crying and they were saying whatever they could to make me feel better, of which it was impossible. Somehow, it struck me that this couple was totally in sync.  They could complete e...

The primary reason why Paul Maurice must go is because Manitoba is not Toronto. People of the GTA will always fill the Air Canada Centre regardless of the team having any chance of winning the Stanley Cup.  (I almost called it Grey Cup, because, it has been so long for Canada that I almost forgot what we were playing for.)  The Maples Leafs organization has no need in putting a winning team on the ice so they don't even bother pretending that are trying.  That is because they have such a large market and their fans are just that, fans. In Manitoba, we are actually hockey fans.  We understand the game and we expect to have a reasonable expectation of success at some point.  Our Jets 2.0 franchise seems to think we are from Toronto.  They expect us to blindly buy tickets and fill the arena without producing too much of a product. We were so happy to have a NHL franchise back in the city that we were patient and supportive in the first three years and...

Wow. This morning President Trump bullied his fellow Republicans into voting to replace Obama Care. Trump said he was done negotiating and there was no plan B.  His message was clear. Take it or leave it.  Remarkable in that he had majorities in both Houses, passing legislation should be a breeze. A few hours later, vote post-phoned.  All we know at this moment, is that the Bill would not pass at this time.  The vote has been recalled, cancelled, post-phoned, withdrawn, whatever.  It is not happening today. Remarkable.  Health Care has been on of the biggest issues in US politics for decades.  Arrogant Trump thought he could solve this in a couple of weeks. What is next?   There is no Plan B according to Trump, but Sean Spicer is already indicating that he is not going to reveal what their strategy will be.  That means Trump is now working on a strategy and it will be announced once someone tells him what that is. Here is some free ...