Women

“We men are very simple people: if we like what we see, we’re coming over there. If we don’t want anything from you, we’re not coming over there. Period. Please highlight this part right here so you can always remind yourself the next time a man steps to you: a man always wants something. Always. And when it comes to women, that plan is always to find out two things: (1) if you’re willing to sleep with him, and (2) if you are, how much it will cost to get you to sleep with him.” …

MY CRAZY PETS

“True friends stab you in the front” — Oscar Wilde

The Pets at Home

My family always has pets. We have them in pairs, at least two, sometimes more. Why two at a time? The pets keep each other company when they are alone — everyone in our household went to work or school at least five days a week.

One set of pets was our twenty-two lb. Maine Coon, Ranger, and our sixteen lb. Shi Tzu, Reno. Ranger was my husband’s cat; Reno was my dog. We often teased each other about our pets’ sizes.

Ranger was a big cat — after all…

Leadership

“The only men ruthless enough to fight against tyranny were themselves inclined to it.”
― Susan Wise Bauer, The History of the Ancient World: From the Earliest Accounts to the Fall of Rome

Communication is Key

In my long corporate career, I have perfectly executed policies with which I disagreed. This is a brutal truth of upper management. The guidelines were not immoral, unethical, or illegal, so they were a part of my job to implement. Early on, I learned hard lessons around communication, up and down the chain, so I was not entangled in unnecessary politics later in my career.

The correct…

PARENTING

“Dear Karma, I really hate you right now, you made your point.” — Ottilie Weber

Sometimes when I’m sitting quietly and thinking, I listen to the palm trees blowing in the wind. The circle of life strikes me. My last grandchild went to first grade this year. I reflect on my kid’s first days of all-day school — pondering how I raised my children and wondering if I could have done better. I did the best I could, considering they were just like me.

Just Like My Mom

My mom suffered through my teenaged years because I was like her. I knew I was…

Poetry

Life

“My second favorite household chore is ironing. My first being hitting my head on the top bunk bed until I faint.” — Erma Bombeck

Humor Helped

Years ago, I loved to read Erma Bombeck. I was a working mother with two children. My spouse and I were both ambitious. He wanted to become the Chief Technology Officer in a company while I aimed to be the Chief Operations Officer. We were juggling a two-career household with talented parents and bright children. Everyone headed somewhere.

My husband helped with the kids as sometimes my job demanded I travel out of the country. My…

Relationships

“I bought a pair of Meatloaf underwear today. On the front, they say, ‘I would do anything for love.’ On the back, they say, ‘But I won’t do that.’ — Someecards

Dime Store Underwear

When I was a teenager, my mom did not provide me with matched sets of underwear. Instead, I got packages of underwear popular at the dime stores, small neighborhood variety shops-think individually owned dollar stores- down the street. Every one of my bras was a white cotton thing with pointy circles for cups. It was stiff and scratchy, not sexy in any way, shape, or form. …

ILLUMINATION Book Chapters

“If you are going through hell, keep going.”— Winston Churchill

The Story

Another simple truth about university life is that if you find a way to bend the rules without breaking them, you will be applauded.

The university computer lab had two simple rules:

1. As long as there was one student in the lab, it was available for use.

2. As long as you were sitting at a computer, it was yours. Once you left the seat, another student took it. There was no getting up and going to the bathroom or stretching.

I was not the fastest programmer in my…