A Real Reason for Boomer Gratitude This Thanksgiving

I don't believe in coincidences. I believe when things happen it was meant to be. I also believe when people come into your life, no matter how brief, they are meant to be there for a divine purpose.

That's what happened to me today. A young woman named Sarah came into my life unexpectedly---from out of the blue.

Sarah had planned to go to Curves for a workout before catching a plane to Minnesota for Thanksgiving. Curves was closed. While contemplating her next move, she happened to be standing near my car when she saw a driver hit it. Instead of turning a blind eye or heading to another destination, Sarah stood by watching the continued actions of the driver.

According to Sarah, the young driver wrote a note and left it on my car but then took the note off and left a half full can of diet Pepsi on the passenger side windshield. She watched the driver leave the scene as she wrote down his license plate number and make and model of his car.

Then she wrote a note on my car letting me know she had witnessed the accident and was going to try to find me inside Harris Teeter or wait around until I came back to my car.

Initially when I saw the note I thought it was some kind of a joke. You know, one of those hidden candid camera moments where someone you know pulls a prank on you for a reaction. But sure enough, she approached me as I was reading the note trying to figure out what was going on.

After calling the police, we waited and chatted. She told me about the times someone had damaged her car and no one left her a note. I told her that karma was going to change and felt I had made a new friend. I asked for her contact information, which she gladly provided. We laughed and she waited as long as she could before she had to leave to get to the airport for her flight to Minnesota.

The circumstances of today were meant to happen just as they did. It was a real reason for boomer gratitude this Thanksgiving. Instead of going to Food Lion (where my car might've been hit and no one told me), I went to HT. Sarah was going to Curves but it was was closed. Had it been open she would've been inside and witnessed nothing.

I won't forget Sarah and I hope that you, too, will have a Sarah in your life---if you haven't experienced her already.

Now, even though this post isn't about politics, I might point out that Sarah is from Minnesota and Minnesota is a "blue" state, which also tells me a lot about Sarah's heart.

Boomer Road Trip to Michigan

Earlier this week, I flew to Grand Rapids, Michigan for business. It was great seeing colleagues like Corena, who I met the first time I was there, along with Audrey, Shannon, and a few others.

Although I've been to the city before, this time I got to experience a few things I have NEVER done in my 55 years of living.

I rode on a school bus for the FIRST TIME in my whole life. We took a 50-minute trip on the bus and, as you can probably imagine, it LOUD with lots of talking and laughter. It's a wonder the bus driver could pay attention to the dark road signs and if we had gotten in an accident, it certainly would've been caused by out-of-control crowd noise.

Now, my daughter always jokes about how I went to school before school buses were invented but what I tell her is I lived in a community that had a neighborhood school which meant I could walk to and from school daily. By the time I got to high school, I would catch the city bus or walk the 3 mile route.

The second thing I did in Grand Rapids, that I had never done before, was go to a restaurant on a farm in a barn---a REAL BARN and I'm guessing I ate food that was once alive on that farm. We arrived at the farm on the school bus.

The third thing I did was go to a hoedown. I can honestly say I never even watched one on TV so this was a REAL EXPERIENCE and yes, I brought my video camera so you could witness it.

Oh, and don't let me forget this: I was flown from Cincinnati to Raleigh-Durham by a black pilot on Delta Airlines. NEVER, EVER BEFORE. This was quite a Boomer Road Trip!

Now enjoy this video:

A Baby Boomer Lesson on Diversity

On Saturday, my grandson was invited to the birthday/halloween party of one of his classmates. Since I had never met Julianna's parents I wasn't sure what to expect.


What I discovered was Julianna's mother is black and her father is of Latin descent. The children who came to the party were from different racial and ethnic backgrounds and it was a beautiful sight to see.

For a three-hour period, the adults watched as their children played and shared without prejudice. For that moment in time no one saw race as an issue. Even the parents were laughing and joking with each other.

By the time children get to elementary school, they are aware of differences and some have already developed prejudices against people who are different because of the adults around them.

There are simple ways that parents and baby boomer grandparents can help their children and grandchildren understand differences in people and be tolerant of these differences:

Show that you value diversity through your friendships and business relationships. What you do is as important as what you say.

Make and enforce a firm rule that a person's ethnic background is never an acceptable reason for teasing or rejecting someone.

Provide opportunities for your children to interact with others who are racially or culturally different and with people who have disabilities. Look for opportunities in the neighborhood, school, after-school and weekend programs, church, camps, concerts, and other community events.

Respectfully listen to and answer your child's questions about people's differences. If you ignore questions, change the subject, sidestep, or scold your child for asking, you may suggest that the subject is bad or inappropriate.

Teach you child ways to think objectively about bias and discrimination and to witness against these injustices. Set an example by your own actions.

I will be having my own party on November 2 and have invited a diverse group of people to attend. I wonder if they will choose to show up or allow their own prejudices to hold them back.
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When Baby Boomer Married Minds Think Alike

A couple of weeks ago my husband and I went to the Carolina Ale House for our weekly "date night."  While enjoying our meal, I noticed a young mother with her two children (a boy and a girl).  They were sitting in a booth.  Both children were cuddled up to their mother as opposed to sitting on the opposite side.

As I watched their interaction, I couldn't help but notice the closeness they shared but I I also wondered was she a single parent?  Where was their dad?  Was she struggling to make ends meet?  At that moment something came over me that I can't explain.  I excused myself from the table, went out to the car and got my  credit card from my purse (which I left in the car).  When I came back inside, I told my husband I felt moved to pay for their meals and I didn't want him to try to talk me out of it.

Surprisingly (or maybe not), he said he was thinking about doing the same thing.  I called the waitress over, told her I wanted to pay their bill but didn't want them to know it until we left the restaurant.

After finishing our meal, my husband and I walked silently to our car knowing our hearts had been connected even more deeply by a mom and two children we may never see again.

North Carolina Dominos Pizza Trivia

The other day I was searching for a specific Dominos location to order some pizza. In addition to finding what I was looking for, I also came across some interesting information about the number of Dominos pizza locations in the United States.

Surprisingly, North Carolina ranks in the Top 5 for the most number of Dominos pizza locations.  OK, so here are the top five states with the total number of Dominos pizza locations:

1. California 643
2. Texas 565
3. Florida 507
4. NC 343
5. Ohio 338

The states with the least amount of Dominos locations:

5. Hawaii 21
4. District of Columbia 18
3. Montana 17
2. Vermont 15
1. Alaska 12

Something else that's relevant to this story:  Ranking of states by population

1.  California
2.  Texas
4.  Florida
7.  Ohio
10. NC

States that rank higher in population than NC but have FEWER Dominos locations:

3.  New York 279
5. Illinois 239
6. PA 253
8. Michigan 166
9. Georgia 269


Where does your state rank when it comes to Dominos pizza locations?

Are You a Cheerleader or Helicopter Grandparent

Ever since my grandson was three-years-old (he's now 5), he has wanted to play football. I think I may be responsible because I dominate the TV on the weekends to watch college and NFL football games and has witnessed the cheerleader in me getting pretty hyped whether my team is winning or losing. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jarod is now eligible to play the sport he loves but grandma doesn't want him to. Why? Because I've heard and read too many stories about the serious injuries that can occur and to make matters worse, some players are doping to become stronger and even committing suicide. Why would I want my grandson to go down that road? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My daughter, on the other hand, says she wants her son to have EVERY OPPORTUNITY to do the things he loves---to experience all that life has to offer and that includes football. So, over my objection, she signed him up to play for the Durham Eagles. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The other day I went to see him practice and here's what I discovered: 1) All of his team mates are the same age and just starting out so no one knows anymore than the other one---perhaps other than what they've seen on TV. 2) They're all practically the same size so no one has an advantage in that respect. A few are actually smaller than Jarod. 3) There's more to football than just the physical. It teaches discipline,respect and emphasizes the importance of listening. Lord knows, Jarod can work on that one! 4) It's an opportunity for young boys to have positive adult male role models. 5) The helmets are twice as big as their heads so its amazing they can do anything with them on. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As a grandparent, we should not be constantly hovering over our grandchildren to keep them out of harms way. Yes, I do want to shield and protect my grandson from the evils of this world but I also want to be one of his biggest advocates. Like his mom, I want him to experience all that life has to offer so while I'll be rooting for my Cleveland Browns this Fall, I'll also be cheering for the Smokin' Durham Eagles! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This is video I shot right after his practice: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jail is not a Place for Grandmas

After picking up my five-year-old grandson from summer camp, I was driving home when I turned right on a red light. Just as I turned I noticed the sign said NO TURN ON RED. I said, "Oh no! I just ran a red light and I shouldn't have done that." My grandson asked me if the police were coming to put me in jail to which I responded, "I just hope they didn't see me." My grandson replied, "If you do have to go to jail, can you take me home first?"