Monthly Archives: February 2026

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

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

Leave a comment

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.

Ambition, Home Improvement, Intentionality, Lifestyle, Mindset, Positivity, Wisdom

Rewards Can Come From Slow Progress

1 Comment

Before I launch into a regular routine of dancing in my rec room, as I mentioned in a recent blog post, I’ve decided to work on a project in the space adjacent to my basement rec room: organizing my laundry/storage room.

The madness of the Christmas season had its way with this space, and it became quite the hot mess. Christmas decor strewn about, haphazardly tucked into plastic bins, many of which had no lids. I bought several very large bins with lids last fall, as I anticipated this moment of reckoning would come.

So, for the last week I’ve been piece-mealing my way towards having a clean and organized space down there. There was a time in my adult life where it would have driven me nuts to just do a small portion of a task such as this, leaving more to be done another day. I would have obsessed over it in my head and said unkind things to myself about my work ethic.

However, as a result of age and the wisdom that sometimes accompanies it, now I’m embracing the practice of moving forward without judging how much progress I make each day. It’s a great mind trick that I highly recommend. I figure that at the end of this project, when everything is neat and organized in that space, I can celebrate with a solo dance party.

What struck me as I was doing this is that there’s this little, unexpected reward that comes out of this endeavor: uncovering things I forgot I had. Things I actually still like and have use for. That’s along with things I knew I had but didn’t know where. Like the three pieces of Valentine’s Day home decor I found two days ago. Perfect timing.

The sweet, unexpected reward for doing an organizing project like this is that it naturally evolves into a treasure hunt!

And I do love a good treasure hunt. How about you?

Given a list, or making up a list, of things to search for is exciting to me. It gets me moving and puts me in a forward-thinking state of mind. It’s motivating and playful. Like when I go thrift store shopping (one of my most favorite hobbies) with a little list tucked into my purse. It gives me a little hit of dopamine whenever I find just what I was looking for.

Dopamine is a thing to appreciate in these times, don’t you think?

The difference between that type of treasure hunt and the treasure hunt I’m doing now in my basement is that in my own space, there is no list. It’s primarily just surprise after surprise, which makes the whole thing fun to me. And it motivates me to keep going. It just goes to show that there are rewards, even simple ones like finding lost treasures, to be had from consistently moving forward, regardless of your pace.

America, Anger, Minnesconsin, Neighbors, Protests

In Solidarity with My Home State

6 Comments

The shock and horror I feel about what is happening now in my home state of Minnesota cannot be adequately encapsulated in words today.

Nonetheless, I’ll try-from my perch just across the border in Wisconsin.

At 37, Renee Good and Alex Pretti were in the prime of their lives. They were, by all accounts, good people. Upstanding citizens who cared about their fellow humans. Who caused no harm while exercising their First Amendment rights, standing bravely against evil-doers fixing to harm their fellow Minnesotans and wreak havoc within the city of Minneapolis.

Alex was also exercising his Second Amendment rights. A good guy with a gun; how horrifically ironic. He was an ICU nurse at the VA. Think about that for a second. Every American reading this right now can easily come up with an image in their mind’s eye of a person they personally know who served in the U.S. military. Like my Dad, Babe, who served in the Korean War. If he were here in the flesh now, in January of 2026, he’d be livid. Absolutely wild with rage at these morally injurious times we have landed our American asses in. Alex cared for vets like my Dad.

And Renee. A mother of three and a poet. What a cutie. She was fresh-faced and appeared to be very kind. She even told her executioner, “hey man, I’m not mad at you”.

This is just so heartbreaking, and it sickens me that the federal agents who murdered these two have not been arrested. That is unacceptable.

From my lips to Karma’s ear, may justice be complete and swift for all of those responsible for these atrocities. Every last one of them.

I’ve always been proud to be from Minnesota. But these days, I’m even more proud because of the groundswell of support I’m seeing from Minnesotans for their neighbors in these horrifying times.

I’m proud that the people of my home state are simply not having it. Some are banging their drums outside in the frigid temps with anti-ICE signs propped up next to their drum kits. Some are marching in the streets, singing the songs of solidarity. Some are organizing food trains for their immigrant friends and neighbors who are too fearful to venture beyond their front doors.

A little cold air and ice (and now, ICE) isn’t keeping the hearty Minnesotans away from taking to the streets and standing up to the bullies in their midst. Minnesotans are nice, of course. Duh. But that goes hand-in-hand with being no-nonsense, gritty, honest, and hard-working. Minnesotans, by and large, take no crap. They do not hesitate to call out b.s. when they see it.

From Governor Tim Walz, to the police chiefs, to the mayors and the brave protesters in my home state, I say with sincerity, may God (or the Universe) bless you. Keep up the good fight and never lose hope.

A lot of us have your backs.

ICE OUT of Minnesota!