I was definitely a “Miss Cranky Pants” this week.

In addition to being cranky, I suffered from monkey mind, my body hurt, and I was far more tired than usual. In short, I simply wasn’t firing on all jets.

While there’s no doubt it was due in part to having been on the road for two weeks, I also realized that not exercising regularly was a major factor. Whereas I was still walking as much as I could, I had missed the thrice weekly gym workouts that have become an essential… More Posted on 10-29-15

How I was Reminded About Gratitude

I am grateful for the many good things that are part of my life. And, while I do my best to reflect an attitude of gratitude, I recently heard a story that truly put everything into perspective.

The story came a few weeks ago from a neurosurgeon I only knew as the result of a breakfast conversation at a B & B where we were both staying.

It started as the… More Posted on 10-12-15

I’m Losing Patience with the Old Boys

I’m losing patience and respect for the “Old Boys” among us.

While I’ll be the first to admit they bring extensive experience and often great wisdom, there is an alarming sameness in their sense of entitlement and a usually masked yet unmistakable arrogance.

Yes, without a doubt, there are exceptions. You might even think you are different if you are an Old Boy. But trust me, the odds are you aren’t. You might even be one of the most dangerous because you are smart enough to say and sometimes… More Posted on 09-25-15

The Critical Hours

I was reminded this week about an incident with one of our sons that took place when he was about thirteen.

With judgment likely impaired by the bouncing hormones of adolescence, he and a friend found and decided to use a pellet gun to shoot at a gallery of glass canning jars. That in itself wasn’t a brilliant idea but it was compounded by the fact that they decided to do it in the rather confined space of our basement.

Ultimately one of the pellets ricocheted off a jar, a wall, and then hit my son’s friend square… More Posted on 08-06-15

Recreation: Poised for Big Data Analysis?

In the late 1990’s I got involved in a Canada-wide movement that collected evidence and research to document the benefits or outcomes delivered by recreation and parks.

Little did any of us know the field was ahead of its time in putting into place a precursor to what is now referred to as big data analytics. Let me explain.

The reality is that we create 2.5 quintillion bytes of data every day. What makes it… More Posted on 07-27-15

When Economy Trumps Quality of Life We Pay a Price

Community building is in my heart and likely in my DNA.

While my career path first took me into the corporate world, I was attracted to the field of recreation because of its focus on outcomes—helping people grow and be healthy, building strong families and communities, working with those who were disadvantaged, protecting the environment, and adding to the quality of life in our communities.

I subsequently worked in a variety of settings including a Boys and Girls Club, municipal recreation, Niagara College, then with the Alberta Recreation and Parks Association (ARPA), and now with my own social enterprise… More Posted on 07-26-15

Small Town Advantage

After living in Edmonton for the past eight years (population 877,926), we recently moved back to Welland, Ontario (population 50,631).

In Edmonton I could go anywhere and the odds are I would never run into a single person I knew. In Welland, that’s not the case because, as in other small towns across the country, people know each other. That’s one of the many things I missed.

In addition to not knowing a lot of people in Edmonton,… More Posted on 07-12-15

Peace Pilgrim: Her Inspiring Legacy

I must say it’s disconcerting to walk into stores and see clothes that look so much like those I wore in my younger years. Fortunately most of them are pretty unattractive and are clothes I would never wear again even if I could.

On the other hand, they bring back memories of an era and a generation that staged protests and raised their voices in an endeavor to make the world a better place.

I like that I often see that same desire in today’s youth.

While my generation may like to think they invented the concept of… More Posted on 07-04-15

Born to Dance?

A friend recently told me how happy she was to know that all of the students in her young daughter’s class had been tested to determine their strongest forms of intelligence.

As a parent, she had received the full assessment. Interestingly enough, the teacher only received the aggregated results of all students. There was great value in terms of knowing how her teaching could best accommodate the particular ratios in her classroom. However it wasn’t important for her to know the specifics of each child’s test.

A well informed and involved parent, my friend’s daughter’s results weren’t all that… More Posted on 06-06-15

Homeward Bound

Eight years ago my husband and I spread our wings as empty nesters and made what many considered to be an irrational decision to pull up stakes in Welland, Ontario and move to Edmonton, Alberta.

One month before the move, I flew out to find a place to live in a city that at the time had a vacancy rate of less than 1%.

A colleague picked me up at the Edmonton airport and as we exited the parking lot, we looked up to see a stunningly beautiful rainbow. I took it to be an omen that our risky decision… More Posted on 05-22-15

Need Some Vitamin N?

I’m not what anyone would describe as a tree hugger or as even as being the outdoor type. However, this year’s never-ending winter left me with a distinct longing to be outdoors tromping through the woods. It was as if my body and mind were telling me I needed to push myself away from the computer and find me a good dose of what author, Richard Louv, has termed Vitamin N – the N standing for nature.

In his book, “The Nature Principle”, Louv shows that this connection to nature, or… More Posted on 04-18-15

Why You Gotta Be So Mean?

As Taylor Swift has been known to sing, “Why you gotta be so mean?”

While I’m typically much more interested in grassroots leadership, Alberta’s recent provincial budget temporarily shifted my attention to the grasstops. The new budget includes a mean-spirited cut to the sector that can afford it the least, reflecting once again, a major disconnect between the provincial grasstops and the grassroots of our communities.

Until the most recent budget,  Alberta provided a 21 per cent tax credit for individual charitable contributions.  Given the impact of declining oil revenues, the government made the decision to cut the charitable tax… More Posted on 04-15-15

Let Local Businesses Show You What They Can Do

I reconnected this week with a colleague from the past who holds a special place in my heart.

While I can’t say as I knew her really well, she served as an important role model.

At the time I had graduated from Brock University with a degree in recreation and leisure studies and was working for the City of Niagara Falls. My colleague was a director of recreation for a large municipality, had a reputation for intelligence and hard work, and was a leader within our provincial professional association. She was the one who stood up to the old… More Posted on 04-13-15

Please People…Its About the Big Picture

I recently read an email posted by a recreation student on a pan Canadian listserv geared to academics. I taught recreation at the college level and am especially interested in emerging professionals and their areas of study. However, in this case I was left somewhat dismayed.

The student was working on her master’s thesis and was seeking Australians, age 18-35, who had traveled to Canada, and made use of social media.

Really? Call me crazy but who signed off on that topic as being thesis worthy?

Don’t get me wrong, and maybe I’m missing something because there might be… More Posted on 04-07-15

Vice President of Photocopying?

A number of years ago I did some work with a very funny, self-employed motivational speaker. As a one person operation there was a lot involved in getting himself promoted, booked and on the road. As a result he put his daughter to work. At the age of nine he bestowed upon her the title of Vice-President of Photocopying. She even had her own business cards and a pay cheque based on an hourly rate - albeit one quite a bit below the legislated minimum.

While it made for a humourous anecdote he often used in his speeches, it also… More Posted on 02-18-15

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