Browsing: Lifestyle

Also from her memoir: “I’ve been a bag girl in a grocery store, computer demonstrator, runway model, auto show commentator, disc jockey, newscaster, radio and TV talk show host, editorial spokesperson, mistress/master of ceremonies, broadcast administrator, AARP Illinois state president, commissioner on the Illinois Human Rights Commission, U.S. Army ambassador, successful fundraiser, adoption advocate, children’s champion and one of Chicago’s first African American females in the broadcast business.”

Rather than allow her to create discord, focus on removing her access to combustible material. If discussing your baby’s name always leads you down the same path, then stop discussing it. You just say, “Well, we haven’t decided on a name, but we know your preference.”

Pillado, 79, has been working at a nearby meatpacking plant for 20 years, lifting thousands of pounds of frozen meats into large vats, eight hours a day, five days a week. His $16 an hour pretax is the married couple’s only source of income. With it, they manage to pay for their groceries, medicines, utilities and their $800 monthly rent — but not much else.

I shared your letter with Charles Rubin, author of “Don’t Let Your Kids Kill You: A Guide for Parents of Drug and Alcohol Addicted Children” (2007, New Century Publishers). Rubin says, “You must take a firmer line and tell her to get a full-time job or work full-time hours within a specific time frame. Tell her, ‘If you’re smoking, you obviously won’t be able to get that job and I won’t be able to offer you housing any longer.’ Give her a deadline and calmly stick to it. In addition to preserving your own self and health, you have the opportunity to influence her by your example.” [September 2012]

“Those impediments, they’re real. The ladies that I have, they all have something going on, but if they can become economically sustainable, that’s the big thing,” Turner said. “I’ve been broke, I’ve been on public aid, I’ve been borrowing and begging for a long time. I always looked at Oprah, like, she went over to Africa, built this school, she takes care of these girls, but they are here, they need help right here, right now.”

I recently had lunch with friends, and one woman, “Barbara,” launched into politics (as usual). When I pointed out that “friends who don’t talk politics stay friends,” Barbara laughed it off and continued her diatribe. At this point, I don’t think she can help herself. Is my only option to quit having lunch with Barbara and others like her?

The unfurling leaves make springtime visible to us in a dramatic way. But like an action hero who has been training in secret, trees have been at work for months. Underground, roots have been growing. Just beneath the bark, water and sugar have been lifted up the trunk from the roots into the buds. Inside each bud, cells have been dividing as the hidden leaf grew, causing the bud to swell.

Invite your mother-in-law to your home for meals, and let her know that if she is nervous about eating your food, she can bring her own, but that you will always set a place for her, because, as you know – love and kindship surrounding the table are the most important ingredients of all.

I recommend adding used coffee grounds, the filters, along with kitchen scraps, and plant debris to your compost pile. A plastic compost bin, which houses the pile, has worked very well for me. You can add a small amount of grounds to the pile each day. And it’s a simple way to reduce waste going to a landfill. The paper filters decompose rapidly, too. The finished compost enriches the soil in our vegetable garden.

If you have stayed in touch with these people during these past two decades, and if you have a cordial relationship with your ex-husband (and his current spouse, if applicable), then you would consider attending any services in person, especially if your adult children would like to see you there.