I’m going to fly again this year. Mentally, physically, emotionally, and purposefully. And you can too. When I was younger, I loved going to the beach and flying kites over Lake Michigan. I flew the classic (cheap) wood-framed paper diamonds. They were about $1.50 and came with 100 feet of cotton string. I’d often splurge on a few extra feet of string; if you’re going to fly, fly high. The wind has always been hungry for kites. It blows from the West across the beach pushing

If you drive through Lake Zurich long enough, eventually you’re going to get an opportunity to enjoy a train. It’s inevitable. According to the website, there is an average of 17 to 21 trains on the Canadian-National (CN) Rail Line that roll through the heart of the Village every day. That’s a lot of trains; so many that they blend in with the background and are often easy to ignore. But occasionally they won’t let themselves be ignored. They get in our way, stop traffic, and

My brother AJ is a year and a half older than me. As we grew up, genetics favored him. He has always been a little taller than me, tougher than me, bigger than me, and better than me at so many things. He was one of the popular kids in the neighborhood and I was his little brother. We would often play games where we were imaginary characters. Sometimes we were Army Men, sometimes Cops and Robbers, but my favorite was when we played Batman and Robin. We ran through the neighbo

Most people hate Mondays. Some don’t care for Tuesday through Friday, but most really loathe Mondays. I was one of those people. I didn’t like Mondays when I was going to school, and I didn’t like Mondays with many of the jobs that I held. I was lacking something to look forward too. I felt like I was just one of the many. My existence and my contribution didn’t matter. I was just a number and it seemed easier to avoid difficulties than to face them. I fell into the same hole

When I was little, I loved watching butterflies dance through our garden. They are so fragile, but also beautiful and necessary. My favorites were the Monarch Butterflies (Danaus Plexippus). Monarch Butterflies are a contradiction in color and pattern. They want to camouflage, but they also want to stand out. They have large, gorgeous wings that look like bright orange stained-glass. And those wings are tipped with black and white polka-dots that match their bodies. They appe

I loved building sandcastles when I was little. At the lake, I would run to the sand with bucket in hand. I had grand plans of building fortresses, palaces, and entire empires on the beach. The trick was to find a clean, clear palate of sand. Not too far from Mom so she could occasionally lather me up with sunscreen. And not too close to where my brother was playing because I knew his goal in life was to kick over my castles. I would start by digging a moat in a great big cir

A couple of months back I had a taste for a sandwich. Not just any sandwich. I wanted a BLT just like my mom used to make. She made the most incredible sandwiches. They started with two slices of white bread, lightly toasted, and swiped with real mayonnaise. She fried up some bacon; not too chewy and not too crispy. She used big leaves of iceberg lettuce that were chilled and still a little damp from being rinsed under the faucet. Then added a thick slice of these enormous to

I grew up swimming and surrounded by swimmers. Art, my oldest brother, was on the swim team and my youngest brother, Fireman Joe, jumps out of helicopters to save people in the water and under the ice. My oldest daughter, Katie, was a Water Polo Player, and Lauren, my youngest, is the absolute best at the backstroke. My fearless family has always just jumped right in. For me, it took a little longer. I tended to think it through first; overthink it, to be honest. Once I was i

“Look Mom, it’s a bird; I can make a dog too!” “But I can’t make a cat.” My Mother sighed, “Stop making those silly finger shadows. I want you to sit silently in that corner. You are being punished.” (You’re in a timeout!) That corner was an all too familiar place for me as I was growing up. It seemed like I was always being told to sit still, be quiet, and grow up. The kitchen light created a shadow of me on the wall and I would sit and stare at him. My shadow didn’t make an