Proud To Work for My Employer

This past Wednesday I celebrated my first anniversary at North Shore LIJ Health System. I am very proud to be working for this organization – how many of you can say that you are proud of the company you work for??

I am always amazed at what this company does for its employees – so here is a synopsis of this past week. Monday we in the OCIO (Office of the Chief Information Officer) had an “All Hands” meeting – 600 of us went to the Uniondale Marriott where our Senior Vice President acknowledged the work we do. Even more amazing was the fact that our CEO and President Michael Dowling joined us and proceeded to tell us what he is doing, how we are expanding and that today we are rated 7th in the US and can expect that in two years we will be rated 2nd.

He is a charismatic individual who understands that no matter what level we are in the Health System we each affect our clients, the patient; and, our job is to make their time with us as pleasant as possible. He also felt that it was necessary to understand how important Information Technology (IT) is in the Health System and humorously mentioned how we needed to grow as the Health System grew and as we needed to provide more information to the government so that we could be reimbursed.

To acknowledge that we had just finished our “Walk to Paris” challenge and the 11 teams from the OCIO who participated there was a raffle drawing – each member of the team drawn received an iPad. This was in addition to being part of the larger drawing for the trip to Paris. As I said there were 600 of us at this event where they served a refreshing watermelon salad, fruit, nuts with raisins and granola bars – quite different than the usual cookies, brownies and sodas – a big effort is being made on wellness within our organization.

On Thursday was the day 15,000 North Shore employees had been waiting for – the drawing for the trip to Paris. This day had come after 90 days of walking, wearing a pedometer and connecting it to our PCs to upload our steps. The drawing was held at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury, Long Island and more than 1,000 employees attended. There was a buffet breakfast held by the poolside and the weather was gorgeous, from the pool people were ushered to the Grand Ballroom where chairs were cordoned off for the various hospitals.

The ceremonies began with acknowledging that the Health System only thought 1000 people would register for the challenge; but, were mind blowingly surprised when 15,000 employees signed up for the walk challenge. They mentioned every hospital and organization that participated giving each of the groups an opportunity to “scream” that they were represented. Next were stories of individuals who had lost 3 dress sizes, another individual who had been a diabetic for a long time and now might no longer need their medication – and many more. But, the crux of the program was that North Shore was looking to promote “Wellness” throughout the community we serviced; and, we really could not do that if we did not promote it and do it ourselves. This year our focus would be on “Wellness” and starting on July 9th there would be two more programs introduced; a Know Your Numbers 2 and Five to Thrive – I know what Know Your Numbers 2 is about; but, I am intrigued with the Five to Thrive.

Now the drawing – there was a barrel that needed to be turned as 900 teams (9000 people) had managed to walk the 7.2 million steps. The first team selected turned out to be Corporate – so they were put aside and in again for another team. Well, they drew THREE more times – not just one team would go to Paris; but, FOUR teams are going to Paris. That first team which was Corporate won – our CEO just wanted to make sure that it was not a team that had Executives on it – it was not.

Okay 40 people off to Paris for 4 nights, with airfare, hotel and voucher for meals – also, a discounted ticket could be purchased for them to take a guest. Well, hold on – it wasn’t over – there was a second prize. Ten teams won the second prize. The second prize was a $1000 Wellness gift card for each team member – the prize could be used as a: spa weekend, a year’s gym membership with 5 personal training sessions, 10 massages at the spa of your choice or a Personal Chef who would cook 7 dinners for 4 people. As everyone walked out they were then given a large bag with all kind of Wellness goodies to keep up the good work.

It takes little to motivate individuals, to let them know that they matter within the organization and that they are respected and appreciated. I work for a company that does that – I am proud to be one of over 45,000 individuals who can say they are my employer.

Life is short, we are all great individuals – let’s work for great companies.

Hail to Routine & Discipline

I am a creature of habit and I enjoy a routine. I have now been home for an entire week and I am EXTREMELY happy that this past week I was able to get back to my usual routines.

First and foremost I have been missing my workouts - I am so proud of myself because this past week I have been able to work out five days. I started a new program this past week that they are offering in the Parisi School of my gym – it is called “High Intensity Performance” and it is challenging as the school is dedicated to working with high school and college athletes.



It is only a 30 minute program; but, I can tell you that on Friday my heart rate got up to 196 during the program. I also enjoy it because it is pushing me out of my comfort zone and it makes me aware of what I do well, where I need to improve and that I have gotten fairly athletic in these past three years that I have been religiously going to the gym.

So, what is a “High Intensity Performance” workout? In 30 minutes it consisted of the following
1. Ten prisoner squats, Ten jumping jacks, Ten penguin jumping jacks and Ten
cross jumping jacks – repeated three times
2. Push the sled 50 yards, run 100 yards, do 10 upper rows on the TRX and then work
the ropes for 1 minute – repeated twice
3. On an 18 inch box step up 10 times on my right leg, then step up 10 times on my
left leg – repeated twice
4. Do 20 drop downs on the box – repeated twice
5. Bang down the medicine ball twenty times – repeated twice
6. Twenty tricep curls, twenty bicep curls and twenty overhead press with the
elastic band – repeated twice
7. Ten in/outs, ten outs with a squat and walking lunges for 20 yards – repeated
three times
8. And, finally the cool down consisted of two planks held for 30 seconds each

I am soaking wet and dripping when I finish – but, I have such a sense of accomplishment. The nice thing is that it is only 30 minutes and I take the class at 7AM so I am out of the gym and home by 8:15. I also took my aqua aerobic class and Zumba this morning.

What I am always most surprised at is that my muscles quickly remember how to work out and although they protest a little I know I can do it; and, like I said I enjoy the challenge. Also, I hate to admit that I gained 4 ½ pounds in the last three weeks from not exercising and/or watching what I ate; but, I have managed to already lose 2 ½ pounds this week and I know the rest will come off quickly.

Now that my exercise routine is back in place – and since it has been very hot I am back to my normal eating habits and not craving chocolate to help me with the stress. I have been able to come home and go through my mail each day; and, not have a week's pile of bills, catalogs, etc. – I have culled all the catalogs and read all the magazines and am ready to pass them on to my niece.



This past week saw me washing two loads of laundry, off to Hallmark’s to buy the July birthday cards and a wedding card for a wedding I will be attending next Sunday. I went to the cleaners to drop off items to be cleaned and picked up things that I had dropped off during my travels. While traveling I finished two books – and have selected the next one to read. Today’s local newspaper listed this year’s summer reads and there are a couple of books that I want to pick up and read in the next few months.

On Friday evening, it was a joy to pull out clothes for the next couple of weeks and press them and have them ready. I bought a new dress for the wedding I am attending and I pressed that and have it lying on the bed in the spare bedroom. Since the wedding is two hours from my home and it is at 11:30AM next Sunday I made arrangements to stay at a nearby hotel – it will give me a chance to have a nice dinner on Saturday, do a workout in the hotel on Sunday morning, enjoy a leisurely breakfast and then get ready for the wedding – the function is only 10 minutes away from the hotel.



And, what has been the best of all is reconnecting with the people I have missed these past couple of weeks. My aqua aerobics instructor Abby – who is having an “initials” party on Thursday evening – I am looking forward to that. Tonight my Club Fit pal, Linda who I managed to convince to come to the “High Intensity Performance” class with me on Friday we will be having a nice dinner together. But, most importantly my boyfriend who himself has been very busy this entire year – we made time in each of our lives to spend yesterday afternoon and evening together to talk, to cuddle and to have a great meal together.

Most of us are creatures of habit and routine – that is what makes us feel comfortable and safe. I live my life in a disciplined and routine manner – now, if my sleeping patterns could understand that we are home now and it would be nice to sleep through the night.






Routine and discipline, “that’s a very good thing”.

Final Journeys and Home

First, my apologies to each of you for not having sent out a blog last week. I appreciate that many of you reached out to see if you had missed it or if I was ill. It was none of the above – I simply was tired from having completed the second leg of my journeys and preparing for my third and final one.

On Thursday, June 7th after supporting the webcast of our Annual Board of Trustees and Awards meeting I drove for two hours to Newark, NJ so that I could spend the night at a park & stay hotel since I had a 5:30AM flight to San Jose, California. Okay, the hotel was a Howard Johnson’s – it had to be the worst hotel I have been in since the Red Roof Inn at Syracuse when we went up to visit Siobhan during a parent’s weekend.



The sheets smelled of oil – so needless to say I did not sleep well and I needed to get up at 2:30 to catch the 3:30 shuttle to the airport. Out the door on time and on the shuttle to find out that they do not take you to the terminal; but, to the tram that you must take to the terminal. On the tram to Terminal A per the attendant only to find out that I need to be at Terminal C – back on the tram again. I was finally at the right place and through security – couldn’t wait to get on the plane. There was no direct flight to San Jose, I had an hour and a half layover in Denver where I was able to get my Starbuck’s venti nonfat latte and read my book. Both flights were on time and uneventful – just the way we all like them. The drive (car service) from San Jose to Monterey was beautiful and the driver was giving me a blow by blow of what crops were growing and which festivals each town had.

Arrived at the Hyatt Regency Monterrey to find out that my room was not ready – I was not happy about that and I immediately had to leave for lunch. Lunch was quite pleasant and now it was off to the wine tour. We went to three wineries which got progressively better – by the end of the tour I could not believe how much wine I had tasted and drunk; I think more than I have had in the last 5 years. It was 6:15 by the time we got back to the hotel and dinner was at 7.



Time to unpack and get ready for dinner – what drama. The hotel had arranged for dinner in the ballroom where we will have our Exhibit Hall in October – one lone table was set with candles and there were two large screens playing the Tony Bennett “Duets” DVD. Each dinner course was introduced to us by the Chef and each of them was lovely. Dinner was finally over by 9PM and I had been up 22 hours straight. Off to bed.

Saturday began with breakfast at the gazebo, a tour of the hotel and facilities and off to my spa treatments. I had a wonderful massage and facial and then we headed off to downtown Monterey to see where our special event, the Beach Party would be. Lunch was at a nice local restaurant where I enjoyed a clam chowder and a shrimp and crab salad. Lastly a drive along the coast where I could see million dollar homes and the Pacific Ocean.

I was on the red eye Saturday evening on a direct flight to JFK; BUT, my car was in Newark – so a car service drove me to Newark and then I drove home from there – I got home on Sunday at 9:30AM. Now to unpack and re-pack to go to InfoComm in Las Vegas on Tuesday morning. My flight was scheduled for 7:25AM out of Newark and the car service was picking me up at 4:45AM – I know you are now saying to yourself that you NEVER want to travel with me given what I put myself through.



Although the flight left a little late – we arrived in Las Vegas at 11AM, collected our bags, headed to our hotel – grabbed a sandwich to take to our room and had lunch. While Catherine conducted a couple of conference calls I was able to unpack and re-iron my clothes – we set up our Exhibit booth in a couple of hours, dropped off our bags in our hotel room and then headed to the Zen bar for a glass of wine, a nice dinner at Benihana’s and I was in bed by 8PM on Tuesday.



The InfoComm show is enormous with 932 exhibitors and more than 32,000 attendees. You can really rack up some steps at this show. We had exhibit duty on Wednesday and Thursday from 9AM to 5PM and on Friday from 9AM to 4PM. We were able to make contact with some individuals interested in becoming Principal and Alliance Members; and, if they do we would have done our job.



The highlight of our trip was celebrating Catherine’s birthday on Thursday. We ordered room service and got ready as we were off to see Jersey boys at the Paris Hotel – my gift to my friend. It was wonderful and I was so pleased with the seats we had 7th row orchestra, smack in the middle. We both walked out singing the songs of our teen years as sung by the Four Seasons.



On Friday we were taking the red eye home; but, still had some time to kill – we changed into more comfortable clothes, checked out bags with the Bellboy and headed to Madame Tussaud’s museum at the Venetian Hotel, afterwards we had dinner at the Publick House and back to our hotel to gather our luggage and take a taxi to the airport.

Both of us were taking the red-eye home due to obligations; Catherine had friends spending the weekend at her house and I had my niece’s birthday party on Saturday evening. I got home went through my mail, slept for about 2 hours, unpacked and got ready for the party. I was home by 10:30 and went straight to bed.

Today, Sunday I have taken it easy – it is time for my body to slow down, for my ankles to stop swelling (all those flights) and for me to get back into a routine.




The trips have all been wonderful and successful; but, as Dorothy said, “there’s no place like home”.

And the Journey Begins

Well I have begun my three week journey on behalf of the Visual Communications Industry Group and I am hoping that this trip is not a prelude for the next two.

On Thursday I was off to Minneapolis – it was a gorgeous day in New York, the sun was shining the sky was a clear blue, the temperature was in the high 70’s and we had low humidity. I was looking forward to the flight and spending the next few days with my VCI-Group friends, peers and family.

Since the trip was only through Sunday morning I had carry-on luggage, I stopped at the airport store and picked up a couple skim mozzarella sticks and some trail mix. I untied my shoes and since I had printed out my boarding passes I went directly to security – don’t ask me why; but, at that point I decide to check the departure board and what do I notice – my flight has been CANCELLED. I am in shock; but, I decide to go to the counter to find out what has happened.

The airline clerk proceeds to let me know that the flight has been cancelled due to weather; but, that I should not worry because they have booked me on a flight – okay – BUT, it is for tomorrow, Friday at 7:30AM. I proceed to let the clerk know that will not work as I have meetings starting at 9AM. I ask if there are other flights – No, Ma’am, Weather. Okay, is there another airline I can be booked on, No, Ma’am because it is ONLY Weather. He proceeds to ask me if I can get to another airport then he can give me a direct flight to Minneapolis; okay, what airport: Newark. What time is the flight; 8:42. Oh that is fine – will you provide me a car service to Newark since I am at Westchester County airport in White Plains. No, Ma’am because it is WEATHER.

At this point the vein in the middle of my forehead is doing a “paso doble” and I am the matador about to strike the bull with my sword; who unfortunately is the clerk. I proceed to call my niece who drove me to the airport to see if she could come back and pick me up and drive me to Newark – sweetheart that she is said “yes”. Knowing that it is 4:30 and we will be in rush hour traffic from White Plains to Newark and that she will be hitting the same traffic going home. We make it to Newark by 6:00PM and Siobhan doesn’t want to leave me until I check on my flight – I told her that I was advised in White Plains that all was fine and I even had a boarding pass. What you don't realize is that we are both trying to download a navigation app onto our iphones - which is taking forever and is not automatically detecting where we are. So now I pull out my laptop to go onto mapquest so I can enter where I am; but, I cannot get a wireless signal. We are driving down to Newark and I am cursing because everyone has their network secured. My niece and I are both laughing hysterically because we also realize that we are unjustly upset. Oh and what you should know is that that WEATHER which cancelled my flight into Chicago was rain. One of my VCI-G Board members lives in Chicago and had no problem with his flight leaving the city.

I finally arrive at the hotel by 11:15PM (Central Time), unpack, and get ready for bed as it is now midnight. I am meeting my friend, Catherine at 6AM at the gym to walk on the treadmill, grab breakfast and then get ready for our meetings which will begin at 9AM. That is all fine except I cannot sleep. Our meeting on Friday was intense but a lot of good work was done. Our Friday evening ended with dinner and a walk around the Mall of America. If I thought I didn’t sleep well on Thursday night, Friday was even worse with my waking up every hour and then staying awake between 15 to 30 minutes.

Up again to workout with Catherine, have breakfast and then get ready for another full day of meetings. We were 14 people in total and much got done in the two days that we were together – that evening we had a nice dinner at an Italian restaurant and did not get back to the hotel until 10:30 – not in bed for another hour as I get my suitcase packed and up at 3AM so that The shuttle could pick me up at 4AM and I could make my 5:30 flight out of Minneapolis to Chicago.

First leg of the flight went well, now I am in Chicago and will be taking the 8:25 to White Plains – on the plane everything is good; but, we aren’t taking off. There is a problem with one of the radios and they are hoping that maintenance can fix it – they do and we take off. My niece picks me up – I spend a few minutes visiting with my family and I am finally in my home by 2PM.

Once more surrounded by my home I am able to take a nap for a couple of hours (I really cannot keep my eyes open) and I am considering what I need to get done for work, for VCI-Group and what to lay out to pack for the next two trips.

As they say, “One Down, Two More to Go”.

Is It July Yet?

June is only four days away and it is already fully booked. I cannot believe the professional and personal commitments that are already on my calendar for the month. Has this happened to you? I am trying to figure out if there will be any “down” time for me.

This is Memorial Day weekend – the unofficial beginning of summer. The weekend is a true reflection of what this summer will be like – it has been hot, humid, soupy with the sun and clouds playing peek-a-boo. The roads are crowded, as are the supermarkets and bakery. As most Americans, today I will be grilling steaks and potatoes; with that we will have a corn, pea and green bean salad, coleslaw and sautéed mushrooms and onions. We have two desserts with the requisite beer, wine and sangria. Let summer begin.

But, as I put together today’s festivities my mind is going over all that is beginning in the next few days and will continue right up to the 4th of July. I have three weeks in a row in which I will travel – in some instances I will really only have a day and a half at home before I am out the door again. I have no one but myself to blame.

This week I fly to Minneapolis on Thursday to attend the in-person Visual Communication Industry Group Board Meeting. I will conduct my standing Project Management meeting on Thursday then head over to my cousin’s so he can drive me to the airport which is only 20 minutes from his home. I will get into Minneapolis at 10PM and we begin our meetings on Friday at 8:30AM – same for Saturday and then I have a 6AM flight out of Minneapolis on Sunday – since I am flying back to my local airport there will be a connection and I will not get in until 11:30AM.

Next I will fly out to Monterey, CA to review the hotel which is the venue for our conference in October; but, that will not happen until I support our Annual Board of Trustees meeting on Thursday, June 7th. There will be anywhere between 800 to 1000 people at this meeting and we will also be awarding exemplary personnel from each of the 15 hospitals. This meeting is scheduled to begin at 4PM and end at 6PM; however, I am guaranteed that I will not be able to leave the venue until 7PM. There is no flight that evening – so I will be driving to Newark, staying overnight and leaving my car there as my flight leaves Newark at 5:30AM. Isn’t it a good thing that I can generally fall asleep on an airplane before it even takes off. My return flight is the red-eye on Saturday night.

I then leave the following Tuesday for Las Vegas to support the VCI-Group exhibit booth at InfoComm with my friend and fellow Board Member, Catherine. As soon as we arrive we will need to head to the exhibit center to set up our booth – we begin our manning duties on Wednesday at 9AM. We do have one great thing planned – it will be Catherine’s birthday while we are out there and to celebrate it I am taking her to see the Jersey Boys show. We will be taking the red-eye home on Friday night and then that Saturday evening I head off to my cousin's to celebrate my niece’s 29th birthday.

That is all just personal and VCI-Group work. On my real job at North Shore I am busily reading two RFP responses for managed services – although tomorrow is a holiday and technically we are off from work I will be doing a synopsis of both responses and making my recommendation for which company will be awarded the contract.

We finally have signed our Verizon web ex/instant messaging contract and during the month of June we will be transitioning our 50 pilot Users to our production site with Verizon, giving this service to an additional 400 people and having them trained on the product.

I also have two job postings and am conducting interviews for those roles – I want to fill them as quickly as possible.

And lastly, is the annual budget process – we are beginning to put together our budget for 2013. Last week we had one of our first meetings to discuss the operating budget – it all seemed simple enough; but, once the spreadsheet has been completed we will need to do our power point presentation for it. Next will be the capitol budget – this one is always much more difficult as we are trying to determine what equipment needs to be purchased, what it will cost, etc. It also requires a justification unlike the operating budget which is generally a carryover from the previous year.

I am almost looking forward to July 1st – I have a wedding to attend for a work colleague and my thoughts are that generally things get a little slower at the Health System in July and August. So for now I have my running shoes on, I am making sure that I take my vitamins and I am watching what I eat so that I might survive June.

Let’s not forget what the real meaning of this long weekend; it is NOT that it is the unofficial beginning of summer – it is a time to give thanks to all of our service men and women who have given their lives for us and continue to do so.

Let’s Give Thanks to our Service People.

Enjoy the Pain as There is a Gain

This week two things to discuss; first whoever said that weekends were to relax, kick back and not do anything??? And the other is who ever said that pain wasn’t good.

Let’s start with weekends were to relax, kick back and not do anything. That isn’t my weekend – this weekend was all about getting my exercise classes in (aqua aerobics and Zumba) then doing some shopping and errands. I have a wedding to go to on July 1st – it starts at 11:15 and I am in a quandary as to what to wear. I finally found a dress that I loved; but, lo and behold not in my size at the store – run home go on line and they do not have it anywhere; BUT, they did have another style. My dilemma; is it too dressy for a Sunday early afternoon wedding as the bottom is a black lace overlay?

Sent the picture to my niece who says to me – no, it isn’t. Well, today Sunday there is an on-line sale and I ordered the dress and it is 25% less – yeah, nice deal. So I was able to go to DSW and get shoes that would look lovely with the dress.

Having that completed is a big relief. So I was able to do all the other shopping /errands that are part of my routine. To Hallmark’s for birthday cards, to Pier 1 for something to place on my dining room table, to the cleaners to drop off a pair of pants to have hemmed and to pick up the dry cleaning; and, lastly the grocery store. Oh wait, did I forget to mention to Home Depot to pick up some more flowers for my backyard?

Yesterday after doing Abby’s aqua class for an hour I come home to remove a lavender bush from my back patio. I loved that bush especially the scent that it gave while the flowers were blossoming; but, this year only half the bush blossomed and not that well. I thought maybe it had to do with the little rain we had in April and then the extreme heat; but, as I started to prune it yesterday to remove it I realized that it was primarily DEAD. I tried to be smart about things by pruning the twigs back so I wouldn’t poke an eye out with them when I went to pull up the stump. I pulled it up and tilled the area for the four hydrangea plants I bought.

What a bargain – the same hydrangea plants were $12.99 last week and I got them for $2.99. SCORE!!! I planted them they are purple and pink and I cannot wait for them to continue to grow. I also re-potted several plants – well I was full of dirt and sweat from my neck down to my feet. I even had sweat pouring into my eyes and I could taste the salt of my sweat in my mouth. At 6PM yesterday I walked myself into the shower with my water shoes and showered from head to foot.

I must be a glutton for punishment as today after exercise class and errands I went ahead and re-potted two plants that stay in the house. But that isn’t enough because I am doing a couple of loads of laundry, ironed my clothes for the week at work, watered the plants outside as it is over 80 degrees and my back yard gets all the afternoon sun.

But I am thinking that next weekend, the unofficial start of summer I will be able to lie on my chaise lounge, read a book, get a tan and have a nice cool glass of lemonade. So as they say, “no pain, no gain” and this weekend I certainly am sporting my aches; and pains from my exercise classes and from my physical labor.

So after all that there is something called “good pain” when you can see and reap the rewards of your hard work, not only physically; but, also from the beauty that you create.

Reap the rewards of your pain.

Happy Mother's Day

Today is Mother’s Day. This day holds so many different types of memories for me. For most of you – I hope you are spending time with your Mother or that your children are with you for the day.

I am trying to remember back to the earliest Mother’s Day and what I did for my Mother. It was not such a prominent holiday or reason for celebrating 45 to 50 years ago. It was not until I was in my 20’s and 30’s that I heard of Mother’s Day brunches, flowers for Mom, etc.

When I was a child we always would make something in art class at school for Mom. How many of us made an ash tray (remember the times) or a card, or maybe it was a seedling that would turn into a plant is what we would give Mommy.

I can remember 1978 – that was the year I graduated from High Point College (today it is High Point University) it was the Saturday before Mother’s Day and they made a big deal about it being Mother’s Day the very next day. It was a tough day for me because my Mom was dead; but, my Aunt Irma who was also my godmother was there and watched me graduate. She also spent Mother’s Day with me despite having her own son, my cousin Gerry who was home in New York while she was with me in North Carolina.

In my late 30’s and early 40’s we would go to various restaurants for Mother’s Day brunch. It would be my Aunt Irma, my cousin’s family with his wife, his in-laws and me. There are pictures of us heading off for that day – brunch at noon which would also suffice for dinner. I would receive cards from Siobhan and Gerard and I would give my aunt Irma a card.

When I moved to Peekskill – things again changed. My aunt Irma was dead and I decided since I was the only one who was not a Mother I would host Mother’s Day brunch at my house. I would also buy each of the Mom’s a small gift – it was Eilish, Gerry’s wife, Maura, Eilish’s cousin and then in a couple of years Carrie, Gerard’s wife – we did that for a few years and two years ago things changed.

As you know Eilish is in a nursing home for Alzheimer’s, Carrie works at Greenwich hospital on Sundays and Maura also generally works. We still know it is Mother’s Day and wish every Mom we know a wonderful day. Our day has just evolved – it is no longer a morning focused on our Mothers – we will get together – at 2PM today I will head to my cousin’s and have dinner with his children, my niece’s husband and Gerard’s boys. We will each be a little introspective and may even reminisce with each other on our respective Mothers.

We all know that we are a product of our Mother and as we get older we each have become more like our Mothers and we see those characteristics in each other.

I am fortunate and I say that all the time. My cousin Gerry has shared his family with me more than he can ever know. He shared his mother with me when mine died, he and his wife both shared their children with me and Eilish was always so gracious about letting me take her children on vacation and to travel with me. And, now they share their grandchildren with me – I have been truly lucky. I am that “Auntie” Mame in their lives who is able to introduce them to travel, theatre, books and to all the world has to offer.

So give thanks to all the women in your lives who have been a Mother figure; Mom, Grandma, Aunt, Teacher, etc. and remember you do not have to give birth to an individual to be a “mother” figure.

As a Mom or Mother figure – our love is unconditional.