Village Green/Town²

I’ve been sifting through old blog posts this morning. It’s dark, and it’s raining, and I’m sitting in an empty house contemplating my birthday. I’m not feeling sorry for myself, mind you, but I am looking for some perspective on the day. (I just deleted three paragraphs so I’m not sure I’ve found it yet.) The last five weeks have upended my life . There’s no visible plan for returning to normal as yet. I don’t want sympathy or a prize.  I’m pausing to reflect on this because it has taught me something I needed to know. I had the absolutely perfect life. Just the way it was. And I didn’t know it. I didn’t think I was doing enough, achieving enough,  being enough,  growing and improving enough. I continually wrestled with seeing myself in one long arc of unfulfilled potential. Oddly, it took a sudden and radical change to make me realize that that life was enough. I was enough. And that my life, family, friendships, and community were just what I wanted. The perfect gif...

  This article in the Baltimore Sun caught my attention for all the wrong reasons. Police: Columbia woman* pepper-sprayed man after yelling slurs at shopping center , Brendan Nordstrom, Baltimore Sun One choice of words leapt out at me. It’s not what you might expect. Shopping center. Oh my word. The Howard Hughes Corporation does not create anything so ordinary as “shopping centers.” Merriweather Row is, I believe, a self-described Lifestyle Center. I wonder if someone in a corner office somewhere cringed when they read those words. Shopping center? The very idea! Next they’ll be talking about Walmarts and garden apartments.  There goes the neighborhood. (I wonder if they’ll sue.) As I said, that’s hardly the reason to be concerned about the crime committed here, which was both racist and violent. You might expect me to mention the particular pain caused by such an act in a community that was meant to be the very opposite of racism from its inception. But I’m really tired of ...

  You know what they say. “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” That’s synergy. Synergy: a mutually advantageous conjunction or compatibility of distinct business participants or elements (such as resources or efforts) Merriam Webster Now let’s throw in: Juxtaposition: the act or an instance of placing two or more things side by side often to compare or contrast or to create an interesting effect Also Merriam Webster  Now you have: Yes, of course. You have Wine & Baby Goats. An absolutely perfect example of synergy and juxtaposition. The Iron Bridge Wine Company  Clark's Elioak Farm is hosting a few amazing, relaxing and enjoyable evenings with adorable baby goats and delicious food and wine in an Enchanted farm setting!! Catering by us (their neighbor), the Iron Bridge Wine Company. Upcoming Dates (6PM - 8PM) Tuesday, April 21 Wednesday, April 22 Thursday, April 23 Tuesday, April 28 Wednesday, April 29 Visit Clark's Elioak Farm website to buy your t...

  We girls hold up this world with a strength that's all our own. - - Jada Pinkett Smith This lovely photographic picture book is a gentle and insightful treatise on the value of women and girls around the world. It was published in 2004 and I bought it for my youngest - - as an antidote to my own childhood indoctrination, I think. The other day I saw a post from the Columbia Association which began: Women lift us all. Screenshot of video post by the Columbia Association  I offer my sincere apologies to Columbia Gym Front Desk Supervisor Casey Lee. I didn’t click on the video. I couldn’t. I saw those words and they hit me in an entirely unexpected way. Women lift us all. Yes. And we are so, so tired of lifting. Lifting without help, without appreciation, without appropriate compensation.  Lifting while mocked and disrespected. While our value and freedoms are under attack. Lift your own damn world.  I worked the whole time my kids were growing up. There were definite...

Let’s take it from the top: the Glenelg High School boosters organization is proud of their Girls Ice Hockey team. First and only. Taking a moment to share something very unique to Glenelg. We are the first and only public school in Maryland with a Girls Ice Hockey team. This team works really hard and has a lot of fun. It is customary to see them all smiling as they play and when they line change. Way to go Glads on a great season! That’s pretty cool. But if they’re the first and only public high school with a girls hockey team, who do they play? Truth in advertising: I didn’t ask. But it stands to reason that they are playing students from independent schools. You might call them private schools. Why don’t all public schools have girls hockey teams?  I’m guessing there are a variety of reasons. Here’s one that comes to mind right away: cost. Infographic from Playground Equipment Website  * A cursory online search shows ice hockey at the top in terms of cost per participant. ...

  Highly recommended reading this morning: It’s time for Maryland to treat kids as kids , Erika Strauss Chavarria, Guest Commentary, Baltimore Sun Don’t have a subscription to the Sun? I don’t either. Do you have a library card? Follow the directions here to gain access  via HCLS. Chavarria, known locally as the founder and executive director of Columbia Community Care, makes the case for the Youth Charging Reform Act under consideration in Annapolis. It would eliminate automatic adult charging for children ages 14 and 15 and would also narrow the list of offenses triggering automatic adult charges for youth ages 16 and 17. Ms. Chavarria’s experience and professional expertise as an educator informs her analysis. Maryland ranks near the top nationally for its number of children incarcerated in adult facilities, an embarrassment for a so-called progressive state. Black children make up over 80% of the children held. This reflects a historical and fundamental societal disre...