Month: December 2009

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One of 8 Nights

Every holiday season brings ups and downs. It seems the time between Thanksgiving and New Year gets shorter all the time. We start with Thanksgiving, my mom’s favorite holiday because no gifts are required, she always says. Sometimes as soon as Thanksgiving night according to the Jewish calendar, Hanukkah arrives. Celebrating both Hanukkah and Christmas in our home means more of a rush. We now have to choose our

Our perfect Christmas tree from Culbertson's

Christmas tree the weekend after Thanksgiving. The shrinking number of tree farms offering evergreens for sale has shrunk as open space seems to gobble up those farms. This year, Hanukkah began Friday, December 11. Fortunately, the three of us were all in the same place at the same time so we could light the candles. Saturday, we drove to New York for a Hanukkah dinner with Doug’s brother, sister-in-law and other family. What a joy!
Our two nephews, aged 9 and 6 had their performances all ready. Nick played the violin and Noah read a

Noah's winter poem

poem he had written about winter. Larisa was too shy to share her talent, but her “blondness” is just so cute, just smiling was “show” enough. I brought along a book written by a distant relative, Jane Breskin Zalben, “Pearl’s Eight Days of Chanukah.” It was simply a joy to have the children and others gathered around listening to the story of Pearl whose cousins were visiting during the Festival of Lights. It was made more special since the author, from Long Island, was somehow related. I have since emailed her to tell her of sharing her story with the New York Breskins. I hope to hear back from her.
Meantime, as a winter cold settles in, we are a week from Christmas. We have two more nights of lighting the Hanukkah candles (if we’re all at home at the same time). The Joretts will spend Christmas dinner with us, so the decorations are going up. I figure by President’s Day I’ll be finished. The house always looks so festive and warm. I can never bake enough cookies for the holiday and before I know it, it’s New Years and time to think about taking everything down.

Reading "pearl's 8 Nights of Chanukah"

The holidays mean less for those who have lost someone. At the gym this morning a woman came in to tell the folks at the gym her husband, who’d been a faithful exerciser, had died of a sudden heart attack this week. Our friend, Agnes lost her husband several years ago. She says she’ll spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at a friend’s, but she doesn’t much like the holidays anymore.

Doug and the nephews light the lights

My son hasn’t mentioned it yet, but for years, he and I have gone into Philadelphia to enjoy the light display at Macy’s, which of course, used to be John Wanamaker’s. We’ve added the Comcast display and walking through City Hall courtyard to see the official city holiday tree. Lunch is always at Reading Terminal Market, Adam’s favorite. Tradition!
Here’s hoping we find quiet moments to be thankful for the time we have with our family and friends and be sure to mark off some special moments to share and remember. Happy Holidays!

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Such a year

I have never been a fan of “odd” years. Maybe it’s superstition, but I always have this nagging feeling that things will be better when it’s an even year, even age, even month. You get the picture.

As the answer blows in the wind on this blustery, December day, the great news is I’m on the right side of things. My successful career in broadcast journalism has now transitioned into my public relations consulting start-up. My bottom line looks respectable for a one-person operation and I am learning more and more every day through wonderful people I’ve known through the years as well as family and friends.

Driving in the car with my son the other night, I asked him what he thought about the changes our family has been through this year. First thing he said was,” You are doing an amazing, amazing job with your business.” He went on to say flattering, positive things about my transition into this business and I couldn’t have been more pleased. Our son has really blossomed in the past few months. He is now working at his first job as a bus boy at Mirabella Cafe near our home. I met the owner/chef, Joe Palombo, through Sustainable Cherry Hill. I am now the communications director, on the executive board and general board. You see, these are things I could never do for years and years because of my crazy schedule. Now, community involvement is a critical part of what is making me happy now.

I was watching a show last night and there was a line that really rang true to me: “When you figure out what kind of person you really want to be, then you’ll really be happy.” How true. How often do we glaze over each day, muddle through lists of tasks, grumble at our family, friends and associates and wonder, “Is that all there is?” That feeling gnawed at me for the longest time. Fear and comfort and a respectable paycheck kept me from making any moves. After management decided I didn’t fit in to their picture any longer, I was almost relieved. Beyond the lack of respect or appreciation by the top brass when I was let go, I knew the journey to find a better life, more happiness and fulfillment would get underway.

Here are some of the positive changes (in no particular order):

  • no more sleep deprivation
  • regular and constant visits to the gym
  • intense involvement in volunteer community groups that mean a lot to me
  • more quality family time without being sleep deprived
  • being “the boss of me.”
  • flexibility in how my day operates
  • meeting new and interesting people
  • more socialization

OK, the list is getting long. It’s a beautiful thing after living by a very tight schedule with absolutely no wiggle room for years, to be able to structure my days and nights so that they work for me. Of course, I still have to be certain places at certain times, but I don’t have deadlines every ten minutes. I am appreciated for the work I do (most of the time) and I have a sense of accomplishment almost every single day.

Advice from people in-the-know has been critical. There’s been fantastic advice and advice I knew instinctively was crap. The latest great piece of advice I received was from a firm I was talking with about their expansion. The CEO suggested that I narrow my focus in what I want to accomplish. Done…next!

One thing I will always be is a news junkie. I have instincts about people that are spot-on. I know crap when I hear it and I know a true-blue, honest to goodness, truthful person immediately. That has always been a key to success in my figuring out the news. Now, it translates into good instincts about how to help elevate a client’s profile in the audience they are appealing to or figuring out a great pitch to the media to bring a client greater exposure.

That even-numbered year is upon us: 2010. I’ll be turning an even-numbered age as well. It’ll be my second year in business with What’s Next Productions, LLC. It’s all good.

Happy holidays and a safe, prosperous New Year.