I’ve recently returned from our youth leadership camp, CampFIRE. Thirty-six incoming high school freshmen from Sheridan and Johnson counties kept Julie, I, and the YMCA camp counselors active and on our toes. It’s a 5-day, 4-night camp up at Camp Roberts above Buffalo, and I am not exaggerating when I estimate that 65-90% of the [...]
I find it mind-blowing that we hosted Thrive vs. Survive Study Circles on Poverty ten years ago. Ten years! My children were ten and seven, my face was unlined, and spare time was a distant dream. Now I have teenagers who drive, I read novels, and our community has Parent Liaisons, a Big Brothers Big [...]
March 31 was a big day for my friend, Sandra. When you read this, she will be one of the few, the proud, the voluntarily retired. I know this because she's been making her friends look at the retirement countdown on her phone daily. Sometimes more than that. And once in a while, we'll even [...]
How many of you are still having dreams, decades later, about classes you didn’t attend until the day of finals when you realize you don’t know where the classroom is or what textbook you should have been reading? Surely not just me. I have some variation on this nightmare at least once a month, and [...]
I just counted them up, and I’ve written around 100 columns since 2011. They started as updates about the CVC’s work and the community. Then they evolved (devolved?) into random stories about my life, heavy on introspection and almost always highlighting my many foibles. Subjects have included everything from my Whole 30 diet success to [...]
I’m telling you right now, I am not a risk-taker. I am a fraidy cat, a wuss, a straight arrow. I didn’t drink in high school. There wasn’t even the contemplation of sneaking out of the house. No illicit substances (other than upside-down screwdrivers and the like) entered my temple of a body during college. [...]
Believe it or not, I can actually focus and finish a project within a specific timeline, all my procrastination and distractions notwithstanding. I’m not saying I complete the project with lots of breathing room to spare but I do adhere to deadlines. Such was the case last week when I was feverishly editing the Study [...]
I’m just going to put it right out there. Partially because many people don’t, won’t, or can’t, and partially because you’ve already learned all sorts of things about me as a regular reader of this column. You already know that I’m an eternal optimist, somewhat scattered, easily distracted, tardy at times, enthusiastic, and in constant [...]
It will come as no surprise to anyone that every argument I’ve ever been in, especially with family members, was because I was right, and they were wrong. They just hadn’t realized it yet. I will also admit that the unofficial McDougal family motto is Always Certain, Seldom Right. Coincidence? Though I (mostly) jest, arguments [...]
Last weekend, I had the not unfamiliar feeling of losing control. Of fearing for my reputation as a good mother. You might be asking why. Or more likely, AGAIN? Let me first reference a past column singing the praises of thank you notes. If you’re a devoted reader, you may remember how much I love [...]
