We’re rookies.
It’s obvious that my husband, John, and I need to step-up our game now that both of our daughters, Anna and Ellen, are active in school sports.
Our 8th grader plays tennis.
Our 5th grader plays volleyball.
Two kids. Two sports.
It shouldn’t be that difficult for two parents to follow, right?
Well—for the first time ever—our girls’ schedules collided last week with both kids having a match/game on the same day, at the same time in different cities.

Of all the different articles and subjects I write about each week, composing a personal column is always the hardest. Telling the world about my everyday experiences in an amusing and relevant way is the worst form of writer’s block.
I’m guessing that in the 22 years I’ve been the editor of the Messenger, I’ve written more than 1,000 of these personal pieces. I’ve told stories about dressing up as the Easter Bunny’s helper, visiting the grade school, and then getting trapped in the boys’ bathroom in said costume while kids tried to talk to me.

Minnesota is home to 14,000 lakes, 12,000 loons, 135,000 seasonal lake cabins and 3.9 million newspaper readers. Really?
Really. Every month, 86% of Minnesota adults read newspapers’ print and online issues, according to a new Minnesota Market Study conducted by Coda Ventures. The study measures media usage and purchase behavior of Minnesota adults across urban and rural zip codes (see full-page ad in this issue).

The subject of this column might be a little late, but the message is still as relevant as ever.
In the United States history, many groups have not been treated the same (women, blacks). In the beginning, they have been denied access to public places and not protected under certain laws (Nope, not touching last week’s SCOTUS decision).

To cap off the school year, my daughter Ellen’s fourth grade class created a living wax museum of great leaders.
Out of the list of dozens of names, my little redhead chose Lucille Ball.
Why did she chose Lucille Ball? Because she was a redhead. (You’ve gotta love 10-year-old logic.)
Things started out great.
Ellen dove into the research work, reading books about Lucille Ball’s life and watching “I Love Lucy” episodes on her tablet.

For the most part, May and June are big months for a lot of people.
Mother’s Day and Memorial Day are in May.
Father’s Day is in June.
If you’re a high school or college student walking across the stage to receive a diploma, it’s probably going to happen during these two months. And if you fall in the group of high school graduates, know that your diploma is special. It might not seem like much, but trust me. It’s gold.

I love organization. When I need something and find it where it’s supposed to be, I am a happy camper.
When I have to search for something that’s been misplaced, my blood pressure rises and my mood sours. That’s when the swearing starts.
Over the weekend, my wife Bonnie was upset because our family’s digital photos are everywhere. It’s important to note that she is a scrapbooker. She LIVES for family photos. It’s how she creates her beautiful pages.
“I just want all of my photos in one place,” she said.

As journalists, we rely on open government and freedom of information principles to keep the public informed about its government. Sometimes, we are met with roadblocks.
Sunshine Week, which is spearheaded by the Montgomery Messanger News Leaders Association, champions open and transparent government at all levels. That means from the local school board or city council meetings, to the emails a state representative sent that supports a bill, all the way up to the President at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. in Washington, D.C.

The Irish have an eloquent way about them and their blessings are almost like poetry. It seems they have a blessing or toast for every occasion and every celebration including those that hallmark the milestones in life.
From greetings to marriage and even death, a well-expressed verse in the form of a proverb or an anecdotal saying is sure to be had.
For decades, the Messenger had a fantastic Irish lad who was instrumental in the newspaper’s publication. The lad passed away last week at the age of 83 years old.

If gratitude can seep into your blood, my February blood donations are brimming with it.
My daughter Anna required multiple blood transfusions during her open heart surgery, a a procedure she underwent when she was just seven months old.
So, if my blood donation day happens to fall in February (the month her surgery took place), I dedicate my donation to my now 12-year-old daughter, her skilled surgeon, and those amazing anonymous people who donated the blood that saved her life.
I became a regular blood donor last year.

I’ll admit it. I struggled to find something to write about in this week’s column space.
This wouldn’t be problem if I had a life.
For this soon-to-be 58-year-old, living in the winter has become very routine.
The simplified weekly schedule goes something like this: work Monday through Friday. Grocery shop and clean the house Saturday. Prepare for the week and see family on Sunday. For fun, sometimes we switch up Saturday and Sunday’s routines.

What can I saw about 2021? I’m an optimist, so I’ll search for something positive about the year we close out on Friday.
It was less awful than 2020.
With the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines, life in 2021 returned to something resembling normal. Gymnasiums were full again. Kids in the public school attended school in person instead of in their pajamas. Lockdowns eased and businesses reopened. TCU High School returned its Commencement Exercises to an in-person format, which again filled the high school gymnasium.

The great gift dilemma. We’ve all gone through it.
Especially at this time of year, a common quandary is what to give someone who has everything. If you don’t get a list of suggestions from the recipient, how do you choose something that allows you to communicate your feelings and appreciation for them?
You talk to people close to the recipient to get ideas.
You can guess what they’d like and attach a gift receipt with the present.
Or you buy the last resort - a gift card.

Maybe you didn’t notice, but according to the U.S. Postal Service mail delivery for many Americans is beginning to slow down.
Is it possible snail for mail to get slower?
Starting October 1, the Postal Service implemented “new service standards for First Class Mail and Periodicals,” meaning an increased time-in-transit for mail traveling long distances, such as from New York to California. The USPS said “most first class mail (61%) and periodicals (93%, these are your third-class-mailed newspapers) will be unaffected” by the changes.

Schools in the Tri-City United School District are celebrating Homecoming this week. In the schools, fun events and dress-up days are planned to make the annual tradition a fun one.
At the high school there’s Hidden Volleyball and Montgomery Messanger Sports Lip Sync, among other things for the kids to do safely. I like the events the kids will be able to participate in during the week.
However we know kids have minds of their own and come up with their own ways to have fun during this week, some of which may not be smart.

After a whirlwind of events—a family wedding “up north,” John’s grandpa’s funeral (north, but not so far north), our 16th wedding anniversary, our girls starting separate sports, and the groove of a new school schedule—my family of four opted to stay home all Labor Day weekend.
You can probably guess what that means…
Saturday and Sunday were spent cleaning.
Our home—and yard--had paid the price of our crazy busy August schedule, and it was time to address the mess.