Venting

Though I'm the energizer bunny for my family, friends and colleagues, it was so helpful to be able to tell a trusted colleague and friend that I wished that my next command performance wasn't on my agenda.  Immediately, I felt better.  This serves as a helpful reminder that sometimes we just need to vent.

Share Your Dreams

We all need someone(s) to help us reach for/achieve/exceed our dreams.  But, our friends/family/coworkers aren't mind readers.  We must share our dreams before these lovely advocates/supporters are able to coalesce their talents for our mutual benefit.

Share your dreams!

Time to Care

Now is our only given.  How we choose to invest our time differs for each of us.  Thankfully, many generous Houstonians voted with their time and financial resources to make the first "fun"draising and "friend"raising luncheon for The Rose a tremendous success!

The Rose's mission is to reduce deaths from breast cancer by providing screening, diagnostics and access to treatment for all women regardless of their ability to pay.

My friend, Donna Mittendorf and I were honored to chair this luncheon, and thrilled that so many friends helped increase funds and additional friends for this amazing organization.

Our stellar media celebrity panel: Melanie Lawson, Andrea Watkins and Debra Duncan beautifully moderated by Ernie Manouse, vividly highlighted the importance taking time to care for ourselves.  Melanie's MS, Andrea's breast cancer and Debra's brain aneurysm brought to focus the reality that health issues don't wait until we have time to address them.

Unless we take time to care for ourselves, we won't be able to give our best to others.

Gifts of Christmas

Two dear friends and I walked and talked early this morning.  One friend recently lost her husband to cancer and she is now recovering from an accident that has impaired her mobility.  She confided that she wasn't in the Christmas spirit.  As much for myself, as for her, I shared that she had the true gift of Christmas in her faith, love and positive outlook.  Most importantly, she has the true gifts of Christmas, despite the reality that she is not enthusiastic about the external trappings of the Christmas season. And sharing those would be gift enough for those who matter!

When to Run and When to Rest

As an accidental runner, my questions are many.  When I googled "when to run and when to rest" I got 1.36 billion hits.  So many options is overwhelming. 

Though this is by far the highest number of hits I've received for an important question, it reinforces the importance of asking credible friends and associates when we need to quickly process appropriate responses.

That Looks Good

Edgar and I walked up to our favorite neighborhood restaurant for dinner tonight.  It's always crowded on weekends, but was also booming on a Tuesday evening.  As we were leaving, Edgar spotted an intriguing dish and stopped to ask about it.  Not too surprisingly, in my "everything's connected" world, his question caused me to turn around and be able to greet a long time business friend and meet her son and husband.  We soon discovered that the yummy treat was a birthday surprise for her husband.

Perfect opportunities present themselves every day to further our relationships.  Sometimes it only requires curiosity about a tasty looking treat.

Everything's Connected Even When Our Paths Diverge

It's been an emotional week as several of Sterling Bank's key contributors left today as a result of our merger with Comerica.  Though we've known their separation dates for a long time, it always seemed that our farewells and thank yous were distant.  Time flies and "then" became "now" far sooner than we hoped. 

Each of these special individuals approached their exits with optimism and appreciation for their opportunities.  "Good-byes" in banking and in life are far too limiting. We've said "so long" to each of them as we wish them continued success and as we positively  anticipate that our paths will be forever positively linked.

Old and New Friends

This past week was filled with lovely opportunities to visit with cherished long-time friends and meet new ones.  Our dear friends nourish us - we can celebrate special occasions, share successes, commiserate about disappointments, get feedback and offer advice. We can be appreciated for who we are and encouraged to become who we want to be.  Our new friends represent all the possibilities of an unopened present from an awesome gift-giver.  This present will be what we choose to make it.

Special people, not things, keep live purposeful.

Goldilocks Timing

I hosted a luncheon today for three of my friends to celebrate a birthday.  One friend arrived 20 minutes early, another arrived right on time and the final guest arrived 20 minutes late.  I served my early friend a Bloody Mary and told her I'd be back to join her as soon as I put on my lipstick.  When my late friend called to say she was on her way I made her Bloody Mary and had it waiting for her arrival.  Cheers to friends however we get to greet them!

Whether it's a luncheon, business meeting, social event or family meal, flexibly addressing the needs of others creates an environment where relationships can flourish.

A Lot of Help From Friends

When the power went off in our building this morning we had to develop a contingency plan to host a special group of guests for a luncheon. After 45 minutes, with no indication of resolution, we had to enlist the help of our next door hotel neighbors and the flexibility of our caterer to create an alternate venue.  Thanks to PDAs, email notification of the change of venue was possible. 

The hotel makes a lot of revenue from food and beverage, so under ordinary circumstances they would never have allowed us to rent a room and bring an outside caterer to produce the event.  And for these same reasons, the caterer had never produced an event at a hotel.   Thankfully, the hotel made an exception to policy and the caterer has had experience in setting up their mobile operations in widely varied venues.  Fire code necessitated setting up the cooking elements outside the hotel for today's luncheon.

All of our expected guests (plus an extra one) arrived, and a great time was had by all.  Fortunately, we had a terrific, long-standing relationship with our hotel neighbor and caterer.  Both parties rose to the occasion to help us create the special event we'd planned.  We all need help from our friends, but we don't always know when.  I believe that it was only because of our positive relationships that we were able to change venues and make the event appear seamless to our guests.

My Best Furry Friend

Tiger joined our family on Julia's 7th birthday.  My timing logic was that at age 7, Julia would be somewhat responsible for a pet's nurturing, care and feeding.  And, at age 3, Gar wouldn't be too intimidated by a pet, nor a pet too terrorized by a toddler.  Before her feet reached the floor on her 7th birthday, Julia asked when we could get her cat.  Our trip to Special Pals was filled with anticipation, and as is often the case with adoptions, Tiger reached out from his cage to let us know that he'd chosen us.

In Tiger's nearly 16 years as part of our family, he brought much joy, love and laughter.  He earned me the cherished designation as Mommy Cat, because wherever I lit, he was not far behind.  His purr motor was a marvelous indication of continuous love. 

Tiger taught us:

• go for what you want (we could have chosen another cat)
• love your family no matter what happens
• stopping to pet the cat is even better than stopping to smell the roses
• furry friends are non-judgmental
• we all need friends to look after our interests
• patience
• loyalty
• tolerance
• love is forever

Tiger went to the happy petting, eating and sleeping grounds on Monday.  His love for us and ours for him endures.

Stranger in our House

Okay, we don't really have a stranger in the house, because she quickly became a friend!  A friend and neighbor asked if their niece could stay with us for her spring break job shadowing trip.  We were delighted to accommodate this young woman we'd never met because she was part of a friend's family.  Of course if this same individual had approached us on her own, without the connection, we would have declined.  She's a delightful young woman and we're pleased that she's become a new friend.

I love this beautiful illustration of asking for what you want and need from those with whom you have a great relationship.  When we're open to possibilities, strangers become friends and relationships are strengthened by shared experiences.

Short Term Loan from a Friend

Yesterday, I attended the Greater Houston Partnership annual meeting with over 1000 others.  The luncheon was at the Hilton Americas Hotel, a lovely venue I've been to many, many times.  Ninety-nine percent of the time I choose the self-park option.  I was arriving a few minutes later than I'd anticipated due to an impromptu meeting with my boss.  My instincts said that valet parking would be quicker. They would park my car immediately and I guessed that the wait to retrieve my car wouldn't be onerous because I'd be networking rather than racing to the exit.  Both of these assumptions were correct.  But the most important aspect of this decision was my missing wallet. 

I entered the arriving valet line just behind some friends.  The hotel offers the option to pay for parking as you enter to avoid a line at the end of the event.  When I stepped into line behind my friends, I was horrified to realize that my wallet wasn't in my handbag. (The great news I discovered in the evening was that my wallet was in my home office where I'd accessed it early in the morning.)  I had $6 tucked in the pocket of my bag and had a $14 valet parking bill to pay.  Fortunately, one of my friends came to my rescue with a short term loan.

Though it's always terrific to have friends rescue us, the bigger message is to trust our instincts.  There's often a reason for a change of routine. 

Cherished Friends

The gifts of friendship, laughter and saying whatever comes to mind are among the many things I cherish this Christmas! My family seemed astonished, when I said, "Yes, I've been at lunch all afternoon!" They had no way of knowing that it seemed like only 30 minutes. Through good times, tragedies and everything in between, it's lovely to know that I have friends who will laugh, cry, applaud, advise, listen and counsel. And above all: they will understand that we are all doing the absolute best that we can with each situation that evolves.

I'm My Own Best Friend

Several recent issues with friends and the popular line from a song, "I'm my own grandpa", brought front and center the necessity of loving and respecting ourselves.  We all need loving, supportive and nudging advocates.  However, our best way of maintaining positive equilibrium, is to be the best friend to ourselves that we strive to be for others.  We need to be loving, supportive and instructive, just as we'd be with our other dear friends.

Incredible Gift!

A dear friend created a fabulous gift that I'll treasure forever.  She saved all the Christmas card photos we'd sent through the years and created a beautiful album.  It brings great joy on many levels.  Friends, family, memories, creativity and thoughtfulness are captured in this unique gift.

Which Hat?

I'm not a literal hat person.  I only wear literal hats when required for costumes or sun/wind protection in boats, convertibles or outdoor adventures. However, I wear many figurative hats - individual, spouse, mother, daughter, sister, grandchild, niece, cousin, aunt, friend, boss, executive, employee, mentor, volunteer, mentor, board member, neighbor, familiar stranger...

Regardless of the hat that I am wearing, I aspire to provide what is needed and expected of those to whom I'm connected.  However, we must ultimately and importantly connect with those who wear one of our important hats.

I tip my figurative hat to each of you who have enriched my life!

Hot Potamus Pickles

Twenty years ago we made and packaged spicy pickles as Christmas goodies.  Our cute purple hippopotamus labels alerted the recipients that these were "Hot Potamus Pickles".  A special friend made my day by sharing that her family still enjoys that recipe.  Her younger sister just requested the recipe so that she, too, can make them as holiday treats for her friends.

It's always a day brightener when we are able to share a nicety from years past that continues to send positive ripples into our ever widening networks.

Fun and Food with Friends

The most obvious reason to entertain is to spend quality time with family and friends.  We love trying new restaurants, revisiting favorites and hosting dinner parties at home.  It's easy to get into a rut. Mixing familiar and novel places, dishes and participants creates anticipation, excitement and memories. 

A favorite childhood rhyme emphasizing the importance of literal friends can be expanded to include experiences:  "Make new friends and keep the old; some are silver and the others are gold".

Social Media Portfolio

Social media is a wonderful way to connect, reconnect and stay connected.  These platforms allow us amazing tools to critically assess, analyze and categorize our connections.  I embrace social media tools, platforms and advantages.  But, I'm a SM moderate.  I don't connect with everyone who knows someone I know.  Though I'm blessed to have many friends, associates and acquaintances, my lists will pale when compared to uber or open networkers.  That's by design.  I hope that my networks will self-sustain.  I want to stay connected with the folks with whom I've chosen to link or friend.   And I love to make other fruitful connections.

As with any asset, we need to review our SM portfolio and make necessary additions, changes and modifications.