Anxiety, family, gardening, Grandparenting, Lifestyle, Love, marriage, Motherhood, Summer

Before the Wedding: M.O.B. Diaries

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My daughter’s wedding is on Saturday. Mr. NOA and I had our wedding anniversary to celebrate and grandsons to love on last weekend. Summer is now here and I’m filled with joy about beautifying our outdoor space. Life is just humming along for us here in Minnesconsin.

Here’s a few pics of what we have going on thus far.

As mother-of-the-bride, I’ve got a bit of anxiety about how this whole shindig is going to unfold. I’m worried about what state the farm where the ceremony is taking place is going to be in. I haven’t seen it in person yet, only a few pictures. I’m worried that accessing the precise spot where the ceremony is will be difficult because as I understand it, there’s a little hill to get down to it. I’m worried baby will cry his head off as he’s being pulled in his bedazzled-by-Grandma-and-Grandpa-wagon by his oldest brother. I’m worried it’ll be pouring rain and not everyone will fit into the barn for the ceremony.

For months now, my brain has been tuned into the wedding.com channel, so to speak. More recently I’m zigzagging between being super stoked for this momentous occasion to yearning for the time when it’s over and I can relax. It’s quite the rollercoaster.

I have a few small things to put together and remember to not forget, as there are grandkids I, along with Mr. NOA, are responsible for (not that we won’t have volunteers pitching in). And there are chin hairs to pluck and nails to trim and legs to shave. Cards and checks to sign, framed photos of loved ones to gather for the memorial display, and no doubt lists to make.

So many things could go wrong. Or go completely different than expected. So many things could go right, too. And probably will. Both wrong and right.

Yikes! I’m so wound up.

Worrying isn’t going to get me anywhere. Intellectually, I know it’s best for me to surrender and focus on what I can do, what I can control (which is not as much as I’d like it to be).

Because this is going to be a beautiful day, no matter how it all pans out. Beautiful because my daughter found her one and only who treats her with the care she deserves. Beautiful because two families are coming together as one in support of both of them and their future. Beautiful because we are all pitching in here and there, doing our parts to make it a wonderful day.

Wish us all luck and I’ll check in when I’m on the other side of this.

For your musical enjoyment, here’s a song I find terribly romantic and sent to my daughter as a possible bride/groom song to dance to but I didn’t tell her that directly because I didn’t want to sound like my mother, who was the architect of our wedding, when Mr. NOA and I were but babes. Our daughter is 10 years older than I was when we got married, has an established career and 3 kids so even if I was okay with sounding like my mother in this scenario, it wouldn’t get me very far.

And I couldn’t be prouder of my daughter for that.

Americana Music, Community, Gratitude, Joy, Live Concerts

Brandi Carlile by a Mile

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Daily writing prompt
What is the best concert you have been to?
View all responses

That is my answer.

My husband and I were at her show in Minneapolis in February of this year.

From start to finish, we were blown away. I was thrilled to hear Brandi and her band play my favorites, like “The Story”, “You and Me on the Rock”, and “The Joke”. I was surprised and delighted when Brandi covered “Uninvited” by Alanis Morrisette, and when she brought out the opening act, an awesome band in its own right, The Head and the Heart, to sing Coldplay’s “Viva la Vida”, to when she told the story of when she met Elton John, after having idolized him since she was a kid.

Brandi shared the impetus for the lyrics in her song “War with Time”. It came from her previous perspective as a young woman leaving the nest for the first time juxtaposed with her perspective as a mom to a daughter in the current who will naturally do the same before she knows it. You know, the emotional push and pull that goes along with all motherhood and daughterhood.

And Sista Strings and the Twins? Putting them all on one stage, complimenting each other’s musical skill sets and working as a team, infused with joy throughout. Chef’s Kiss.

As it was not long after ICE thugs murdered Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis that this show took place, Brandi gave a lot of love to the crowd in appreciation for the courage shown by the citizens of Minneapolis in the face of that. At the end of the show, she invited the Singing Resistance onto the stage who led us all in a song with the rallying cry “It’s Okay to Change Your Mind“, which was what they sang at the ICE officers during Metro Surge as an act of political non-violent activism.

I’ve never been to a concert that felt more like community in my life. Brandi Carlile is not only a gifted, dynamic songwriter, performer and musician, but she is also a builder of community. She is a national treasure.

I’ll sign off with a song of Brandi’s that I love so very much that she didn’t play at this concert. I hope you enjoy!

Arts and Crafts, Creativity, Home Decor, Imagination, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Repurposing, Thrifting

Re-Re-Re: Purposing, Entry Number 8

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As I’ve rekindled a serious obsession in the last 6 months or so with arts and crafts (a natural by-product of my participation in The Artist’s Way group last fall), I am a very eager student of repurposing.

Repurposing aligns with a phrase I’ve always appreciated: “Necessity is the mother of invention”. Like those inevitable moments in our lives when we don’t have what we think we need or don’t have access to what we think we need, we improvise. We take a look around and see what’s there, right in front of us. What can be used in a pinch. Repurposing really appeals to my interests in both creating and problem-solving.

I recently discovered a new t.v. show, “That Thrifting Show”, hosted by Lara Spencer. It’s a competition reality show on Hulu that has two teams of two people competing for who can do a better job designing a room using exclusively thrifted items, with a budget of $2000. I love seeing the thrill of the hunt for treasures and what the design teams do with them once they’re back in the warehouse to put their rooms together. A lot of times they upcycle items they thrift. One time a team painted leather dining chairs purple. Lara’s special room which she has filled with treasures she has personally thrifted is the stuff of my daydreams.

Repurposing, however, is not limited to finding thrifted items and upcycling them. I say this not only because it’s true, but because while upcycling excites my creative spirit, I don’t have a ton of personal experience with it. This is on account of the time constraints of life coupled with fear that I’ll bite off more than I can chew (I have a special talent for that-or maybe it’s undiagnosed ADHD?).

Yet, there’s lots of simple ways we can repurpose things, like:

  • Using plastic bags from the store to line garbage cans or to carry lunch to work in.
  • Affixing googly-eyes or using a Sharpie to create finger puppets out of old winter gloves to entertain babies.
  • Taking discarded wrapping paper and framing it to create a one-of-a-kind piece of art.

Or, going much deeper, other “things” can be repurposed, right? Such as:

  • A personal blog
  • A shed
  • A career

Putting this in black and white gives me much, much food for thought.

But I digress.

What say you all about the notion of repurposing? Do you think about arts and crafts or furniture, or do you think of simpler, day-to-day things that could be repurposed? Or do you think it’s more interesting to ponder more substantial things, like how your life could be repurposed in some way, shape, or form?

I repurposed the tissue paper flowers made by my in-laws (what a beautiful part they played by doing this) for decorating the venue of our daughter’s wedding shower (put on by my gem of a SIL). There were so many left over! I brought them into work to decorate our offices, for my co-worker give them to her granddaughters to play with, and/or to use as decorations for our annual volunteer appreciation party in June. I just couldn’t bear to toss them in the garbage.

Aren’t they pretty?

Naturally, I’m going to choose a song to cap this last-in-my-re-re-re series blog post by sharing a cover of a tune. One that was excellent in its original form but got repurposed and given new life by some really talented singers and musicians. Please share in the comments any songs you love that have been respectfully repurposed by other artists.

America, American Politics, Anxiety, Creative Writing, Fashion, GenX, Optimism, Psychology, Words

Re-Re-Re: Considering Red, Number 7

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Today’s entry is a pondering of yet another word that begins with “re”, my favorite prefix.

That word is “reconsider“. What comes up in your mind when you read this word? Perhaps something you might want to reconsider? A chance to go back and change your mind about trying something? To “un-chicken out”?

This fall, I put myself in the most uncomfortable position by participating in my first virtual writer’s meet-up. Let me tell you, there’s a reason you don’t see me posting videos of myself giving you advice or telling you all what I think about something. I am an absolute mess when it comes to having to use my actual literal voice to interact with others. I get so freaking nervous. And my messiness is a good 800% higher when this interaction is with people I don’t know IRL.

But, I got through it. I perservered. And I was witness to a story told by another participant in which she relayed a recent experience she had while wandering through Paris (she was living there on a short term basis with her husband-how cool is that?). She focused on being present while meandering through the streets of gay Paris, and she said she noticed the funniest thing: the color red. It seemed to pop up everywhere, and in particular, in the pants worn by Parisians. It completely delighted her. And her telling of this story in turn delighted me.

That got me thinking more deeply about the symbolism of the color red. Like the MAGA movement and how this faction of the American populace has claimed this color as part of their brand (of course this began with the Republican party, like the Dems have comandeered the color blue). I hate those dumb red ball caps I sometimes see people wear that bear the catchphrase borrowed from the Reagan era by the Trump crowd. I cringe inside as I process the disappointment I feel in humanity when some fool opts to wear one of these ridiculous ball caps in public spaces. Fortunately, sightings of these red ball caps are few and far between these days as fans of the President are becoming more disillusioned every day.

But obviously there’s more to the color red than a political party and movement that doesn’t align with my values, so I’m going to reconsider it.

I recently heard someone say that red is a color that is universally flattering (depending of course on the undertones). And then there were the red hats I saw online worn by people in Minneapolis protesting against ICE’s Metro Surge. These were a different sort of red hat though-a knitted hat that’s pattern originated in Norway (hey-my DNA results say I’m 4% Norwegian!). They were worn by Nazi resisters when Nazis occupied Norway in the early 40’s. And then there’s the warmer shade of red seen in tomatoes I am eager to get started in the new raised bed garden Mr. NOA plans to build this spring. And that cheery red rose bush we planted last spring, which, before long, will be blooming. There really is a lot to appreciate about the color red.

Isn’t it fascinating to think of the ways in which particular colors evoke emotions and psychological responses? Check out this interesting article I found about the psychology of color. What thoughts and feelings come up when you consider the color red?

I’m off to see what options I may find for red pants online now.

I will leave you with a song I heard a few nights ago, on https://www.thecurrent.org/, while I was working on this blog post. I share it because I think it’s fan-freaking tastic but also because I thought “Red Rain” by Peter Gabriel was a bit dark for this conversation and “99 Luft (Red) Balloons” is just not on my highlight reel of songs from my youth in the 80s.

So, just stop and listen to this one. It’s fire!, as (I think) the kids say.

Creative Writing, Dogs, Humor, Imagination, Names

Re-Re-Re-Re-Re-Re: Number 6 about My Favorite Prefix

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As a person who is keenly interested in discussing names and playing around with them, I was very amused by an episode of “Good Hang with Amy Poehler”. She interviewed Mike Schurr, the guy who, among other things, created my beloved “Parks and Recreation”. The two laughed about how it was Mike’s practice to come up with names for every single character in a scene. It didn’t sit right with him that the actors who made the trip across Los Angeles to work for one day on the set where they maybe had one line, to not have a name. You know, something other than “lady in clicking heels” or “male friend of other man in blue shirt who butts in line”

Of course, because they wanted to avoid being sued for using a real person’s name, they had to get creative. They had someone in the legal department regularly checking online to ensure that there was no record of anyone with the name Mike was choosing for that character. What fun that must have been, coming up with all of these names!

If you haven’t guessed it yet, the word I’m focusing on for this entry in my series about my favorite prefix of “re” is renaming.

Our dog, Radar, was named Leroy when he adopted us. This was not his original name, as the staff at the shelter he wound up at in Houston as a puppy, called him Leroy. But he wasn’t a Leroy to me. The name Leroy conjured up that old song from the 70s, “Bad, Bad, Leroy Brown”. But our Leroy was not bad. He was rambunctious for certain, but definitely not a bad dog.

We started calling him Ringo. That lasted about a week. Mr. NOA and I had been going back and forth about what we were going to name him during that span of time, and one night he suggested we name our boy Doppler. Did I mention Mr. NOA is trained as a meteorologist? I countered with the name Radar. And that was that.

If I had to choose a new name for our other GSD mix mutt, Dash, it would for certain be Tigger. When he’s outside, he jumps and pounces with glee and joy in his little puppy heart. It is the cutest thing ever. I can’t wait to get outside with him once it warms up more so Mr. NOA and I can try agility training with him. I think this dog is made for it.

A former co-worker of mine was named Mari (originally pronounced Mary). Yet, she preferred to be called “Marr-ee”. I thought that was so quirky. She told me that she answered to both pronounciations of her name, so sometimes I would teasingly call her “Mary-Marr-ee”. She was a good sport about it.

Sometimes people we know and love, or those we admire from afar surprise us by changing their names. I have zero tolerance for those folks on social media who insist on commenting that they refuse to refer to the name-changer using their preferred name. That, to me, is so childish. Not to mention disrespectful. If a person chooses to change their name, for whatever reason, the only option in my mind is to respect it. Because it’s not about us at all. Purposefully choosing to use a person’s original name against their wishes helps no one and does not change the fact that this person now has a new name.

Someone we are all familiar with has a penchant for renaming things to include his name. I’m looking forward to the day (and I do believe it will come) when someone new and actually competent will be in charge and can rename these things. These institutions.

How about you? What’s your take on renaming things, people, pets, whatever? Or maybe you’ve got a story to tell about renaming something or someone? Please share in the comments!

Here’s a sweet tune from that one-of-a kind band with a most unusual name, “ABBA”.

Adventure, Hope, Intentionality, Positivity, Spring, Travel, Writing

Re-Re-Re: Number 5

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What comes to mind when you hear the word “renew”?

If I’m being honest, when the word “renew” is uttered I cringe a little. Because “renew” makes me think of things I have to do. Things like renewing my driver’s license, car insurance, tabs on our truck. And library books (check out this cool article I read a few weeks ago about an artist who uses old library check out cards for her pieces). The things we do, perhaps begrudgingly, as responsible adults.

Not very “pollyana-ish” of me, is it?

Time for me to shake off the cringiness and consider alternate applications of the word “renew”. I mean, it’s springtime after all, and isn’t this season all about renewal anyway?

The ground beneath our feet is in it’s renewal era at the moment. Here in Minnesconsin, the multiple inches of snow we got earlier this month has melted entirely. The ground is soaking up that moisture as we speak , beginning a state of renewal. Soon, our yard and gardens will come alive with new growth. I anticipate my interest in spending time outdoors and doing the work required to nourish this new growth will be renewed.

What does renewal look like to you? What does it feel like?

Maybe you’re feeling that you want to renew your sense of adventure. Try things altogether new. Visit places you’ve never been. I’m doing this by obtaining my very first passport, ASAP. It’s not going to happen for a while, but Mr. NOA and I will be traveling to Canada. My hope is to meet and learn more about my dad’s side of the family from Quebec. The DNA sample I sent in to an ancestry website earlier this year ought to be processed soon, and I’m looking forward to the adventure of discovering who is all in my family tree.

What steps might you take to renew your sense of adventure?

Perhaps you’d like to renew your sense of hope. Hope for your future and your people’s future. Hope for humanity. I would wager that we can, if we are intentional about it, find glimmers of that hope stuff. It’s so easy these days for our attention to stay with all of the awfulness happening in our world. While I think it’s important to keep oneself aware of what is transpiring within our governments, locating bits of hope here and there helps to balance things out a little and makes things feel less bleak.

A quick google search led me to this article about youth in California banning together to advocate for reducing the amount of pickleballs and tennis balls going into landfills. That is just one little bit of positivity happening here in the U.S. amidst the mayhem our government seems hellbent on creating. There are still people doing what they can to make things better in this country. We musn’t lose sight of that.

What renews your sense of hope?

I’ll leave you with a song I’ve always found to be breathtakingly beautiful. It wasn’t until I was 30-something that it occurred to me that this song originated as a hymn sung in church.

May you seek the renewal that your heart desires.

Arts and Crafts, Creativity, Intentionality, Mental Health, Mindset, Positivity, Words, Writing

Re-Re-Re: Post Number 4 on St. Patrick’s Day

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The word I’m feeling right now that begins with my favorite prefix, “re”, is “reframe”. It means a couple of different things to me. One is that it’s a mental health trick that I’ve used to my benefit over the years. It’s when you hear yourself lamenting about something, (which is perfectly human and normal and acceptable), but you know you don’t want to get stuck in it. It’s a way to readjust your attitude.

An example could be if you’re thinking “I don’t wanna work, I wanna play on the drums all day“. You turn that off and allow yourself a deep breath and then do a little reframe. Like, perhaps, “I get to go to work. I get to see other people who I care about and have conversations and make a little money to spend when I’m not working”.

This trick ‘o mine (hey it is St. Patrick’s Day today after all. I might even share an original limerick at the end of this post) may seem oversimplistic. It might be, but it helps me when I am stressing or feeling crummy towards whatever the thing is that I don’t want to but must face that day. You should give it a try!

The other meaning of the word “reframe” for me is about pictures and art. Repurposing things I see and putting them in frames is the most recent creative instinct pulling at me. I even bought picture frames at Goodwill the other day. One is for a specific person that I will pick just the right photo for as a gift for an upcoming summer holiday. The other frames-well, I’m choosing to trust that the universe will point my eyes towards the images that belong inside of them. It wouldn’t hurt to revisit (ha ha but seriously I’m by no means done with revisiting things) the old gray plastic tub ‘o photos in the basement laundry room space I just finished reorganizing.

I think the commonality between these two things, reframing art and reframing our thoughts, is that they change the way we see things. They are about vision and forward motion through an intentional lens.

Now I told you all that I was going to share an original limerick in this blog post and in the process of google-searching all about limericks, I learned that May 12 is National Limerick Day. That’s because the person who invented limericks, Edward Lear, was born on that day. Bet you didn’t know that!

Here goes nothing:

There was an old crone who called herself Polly

who tried to always keep things jolly

One day she wrote her first limerick

and hoped with her readers it would stick

and delight with her in that folly

What might you endeavor to reframe in your life? Maybe something simple like a picture, or an attitude towards someone or something?

Now, as a lifelong fan of the Beatles, I can’t pick a favorite. I resist any silly quizzes online that demand I do so. But, I can say for certain that Ringo is in my top 4. Ha ha! Here’s a tune from Ringo (who just turned 85 and actually released a new album if you can believe it) that I’ve always found to be such a bittersweet, yet catchy, little ditty.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Creativity, Grandparenting, Humor, Intentionality, Lifestyle, Reading, Self Improvement, Time

Re-Re-Re: Post Number Three

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Historically, I’ve been more of an anti-revisiting stuff type of person. My time and energy are valuable. On many fronts, I’m just not interested in rehashing what was. Most of the time, I’m interested in moving on to the next right thing in my life. While of course doing my best to remain present in the present.

How about you?

There are exceptions, however. Some things, experiences, and places are worth a revisit now and again.

Maybe for you it’s an old sweater from your college days, or your 8th grade journals. Or an album you loved that you played on repeat in your room while deeply appreciating the artwork or lyrics on that album’s cover.

Maybe it was a food you used to love making when you came home from that soul-depleting job you had when you were 31. Mine was elbow macaroni swimming in a sea of melted Velveeta and chopped up hot dogs(in my defense, I did have small kids at the time). Maybe it’s a place, like that dive bar you and your sister went to on your first night in Wichita or that one shady little spot on your favorite lake that used to be full of walleye.

What sorts of things or experiences would you want to revisit in your life? For personal growth, or even just for fun?

When it comes to things I find value in revisiting, I instantly think of books.

As I’m currently at the tail end of a breath-of-fresh-air, collaborative, and inspirational self-help/memoir, The Book of Alchemy, by Suleika Jaouad, I’ve started to consider what to read next.

It’s probably going to be this:

Yet, as I donated a trash bag full of books to our local thrift store last week (and there’s more where that came from), it occurred to me that taking stock of the books left behind is not an unwise use of my time.

Some of the books I own are bona fide keepers. These are the ones I’m compelled to return to when I’m feeling uninspired or bothered by something. The ones that contain wisdom and inspire me as a woman and a creative being. The books that I can pick up and learn something new from every time, or at the very least, remind myself of a passage that struck me on the first (or even second or third) pass.

Like this bunch of mine:

Top to bottom: Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott, Atomic Habits, by James Clear, The Crystal Bible by Judy Hall, You Are A Badass by Jen Sincero, Atlas of the Heart, by Brene Brown, The Artist’s Way, by Julia Cameron, and When We Were Invincible by Becky Kliss. A host of reasons why these are such keepers.

I’m curious: do you have books like that? Ones you can’t bear to part with because you know you’ll revisit them someday?

One experience I would like to revisit is making pottery. I recently did this for the first time, as an “experience” gift for Christmas from and with my SIL. This was a prime example of me embracing trying something new that I might suck at. I absolutely did both the embracing and the sucking. But…I enjoyed the experience. I created one potentially usable small bowl that day. Usable for what remains to be seen, but we’ll see when we go back in another few weeks for the painting portion of this experience. It turns out that one can rent the potter’s wheel. I’m thinking without any strangers around for me to compare myself to, I could eventually improve my form and create a cool, absolutely usable piece.

What experience might you want to revisit? Is there something that you’d like to have another go at?

As far as places to revisit, for me it’s Washington, D.C. This should come as no surprise to any readers of this blog who’ve been around for awhile. The thing about revisiting our nation’s capital is that there is such a vast array of things to do, see, and experience there. Only when I do revisit Washington, D.C., it’ll (hopefully) be with a grandson or two in tow. That way, I can revisit it with at least one extra pair of new, curious eyes.

I’m going to cap this blog post off with a song from The Little River Band’s Greatest Hits album, an album I played frequently as a teen in the 80’s. An album I’ll be hunting for next time I’m in a thrift store. It’s worth a revisit.

America, American Politics, Hope, Imagination, Positivity

Re-re-re: #2 in my series

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The meaning of the prefix “re” (my favorite one, as referenced in my last blog post) is “again”.

What do you suppose would be something you’d want to circle back to in your life? To begin again with the wisdom you’ve gained since your last attempt? Or maybe there’s nothing appealing to you about re-imagining a second try at an aspect of your personal life. Perhaps for you, it’d be more a re-imagining of our world, or of the country you live in, for the better?

Those are some big questions, I know. But we all have this thing that no one can take away from us. It’s in our soul; it’s part of our spirit. It is our imagination.

Yes, the “re” word I’m choosing for this entry in this blog series is “re-imagine”. At the risk of ridicule from any readers who might think I’m skipping around in a fantasy land wearing rose-colored glasses, I’ll have you know that my glasses are actually purple. My point is that I’m choosing to re-imagine a brighter future for this country that I love. Because I have faith in and love for my fellow Americans.

It seems worthwhile to stop and think of it like our current power-holders and the people working at their behest have with their “Project 2025”. Only our version would be the people’s project: “Project 2029”. A re-imagined America.

The fact of the matter is that Mr. Trump is not going to live forever, and more damning truths are coming out every day (credit to independent journalism #epsteinfiles). It seems clear that this iteration of American governance is not sustainable. And I think it’s safe to say that the vast majority of Americans want to be done with this current administration and move towards something better.

That begs the question: what’ll be next? What do we, the people, want our government to look like when this is all over? After we’ve surveyed the damage, cleaned up the debris, and processed what we have been through for the last decade?

This of course does not mean I don’t acknowledge that getting from here to there is likely going to be a hellscape of unprecedented proportions. But we Americans are scrappy, and we have political humor and springtime and puppies and new babies and other joys that ground us and keep us sane. This is what will get us through to the other side.

Because I believe this is an important conversation for Americans to have, I invite you to respond to the list I’m about to share and add your own wishes for a re-imagined America. Know that this list is not comprehensive, but it’s a start.

In my re-imagined America (Project 2029), we’d have:

  • Universal Healthcare
  • Legal Abortion
  • Billionaires taxed out of existence
  • Experts back at their federal government positions and a restoration of all federal workers fired during this administration’s reign, starting with FEMA
  • Great financial investments in education, job creation, and addressing climate change

I think if we all ponder what might be on our lists of what a re-imagined America would look like, we could then look for the leaders who are in alignment with our wish lists and support them in whatever way we can.

Or maybe just think of this exercise as a happy distraction from the daily yuck. Looking for the helpers is what we’re supposed to do in times like these, according to our friend Mr. Rogers, right?

Black History Month, Connections, Diversity, Grandparenting, Music, Positivity, Respect

Re-Re-Re: 1st post in a series

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Alright, my word nerd friends: do you have a favorite prefix-a short couple of letters that precede a word that changes that word’s meaning?

I do. It’s “re”. There are are multitude of remarkable words that start with this prefix, which is why I’m saying with uncustomary confidence that this is the first in a series of blog posts about “re”.

But first.

I’m going to start with a word that begins with the letters “r” and “e” but isn’t the prefix “re”.

That would be the word “respect”, or as Miss Aretha crowed “R.E.S.P.E.C.T.” She also belted out “re-re-re-re” in that iconic song, which has been firmly lodged into my songbrain since at least last week. The best line in that song is one in which Aretha demonstrates how she has respect for herself: “I’m about to give you all of my money. And all I’m asking for in return honey is to give me my propers when you get home.” A woman clearly stating what she expects and why she deserves it. That, I respect.

Another artist I respect and appreciate is Roberta Flack. She is most certainly in my top 5 of all-time favorite female singers. I caught the portion of the 2026 Grammys where she was honored (she died one year ago today, actually) and it occured to me just how much I love her voice. Her song “Killing Me Softly” breaks open my heart every time I hear it. The vulnerability in the lyrics and how she delivers them is nothing short of breathtaking. Rocking my 7 month-old grandson the other day, I found myself playing Roberta’s songs on Spotify and was reminded of the duets she did (like this one) with Donny Hathaway. Doing a little bit of googling for this blog post, I learned that the two of them met as students at Howard University. I found this interesting article about Roberta’s lasting influence at Howard and her musical partnership with Donny. You can check it out here.

In the course of my online exploration of Roberta’s life and music, I found myself wondering if Aretha and Roberta’s paths ever crossed. Answer: they did.

They took the stage, along with Sarah Vaughn and Peggy Lee, in 1973 to honor Duke Ellington. I’ll share the video here, though it’s pretty grainy. Those gowns, right?

As it’s Black History Month, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention other black artists whose talent I respect.

There’s the iconic Prince, born and raised in Minneapolis, a city dear to my heart. His passing, almost 10 years ago now, was such a shock, wasn’t it? He was a one-of-a-kind artist who was unapologetically and beautifully himself.

The powerhouse vocalist and performer Tina Turner. The strikingly handsome, talented change agent Harry Belafonte. Bill Withers, who lifted us all up with songs like “Lovely Day” and “Lean on Me”. The man who also gave us that perfectly soulful and funky song “Use Me” and the classic “Ain’t No Sunshine”.

It appears it’s time to make myself a new Spotify playlist so that I can marinate in these wondrous, passionate black voices and share their talent with the young ones in my life.