The county fair

August 29th, 2010 by Regina Brett

Nothing beats an old fashioned county fair.

 

I took my grandson to his first one on Saturday. We drove out to the Randolph Fair in Portage County. I've been going ever since I was a kid when my dad took us. Once, my dad even paid for us to get a real helicopter ride there. It must have cost him a fortune. I'll never forget how cool it was to be airborne for the first time in my life.

 

The people at a fair seem so real, so down to earth, so kind and friendly. It's like going back in time. My grandson loved the bright ribbons displayed for prize hogs, giant pumpkins and miniature flower arrangements.

 

I strolled him through all the barns. He got to see, touch and smell cows, horses, rabbits, goats, sheep and roosters up close. He looked perplexed in the swine barn. It could be the smell, or the fact that those little piggies aren't quite as cute as they look in his picture books.  Or maybe he wondered how in the world those kids could be sleeping in the straw alongside their prize animals.

 

My grandson is a country boy at heart. He sat on a John Deere like he was ready to plow the north 40. Every time a tractor drove by, he squealed louder than the pigs.  

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Little Sprouts

August 24th, 2010 by Regina Brett

Tonight I had dinner with my friend Father Kevin Conroy, who works with the Maryknoll priests in Cambodia. He loves helping out with the Little Sprouts, the children orphaned by parents who died from AIDS.

 

All of these kids are HIV positive or have AIDS. Kevin told me there are about 200 orphanages in Phnom Penh. How sad.

 

Kevin is in Cleveland to celebrate the wedding of a family member and to celebrate his dad's 80th birthday. He said when the kids found out he was leaving for 9 days, they held a raffle to see who would get to ride to the airport with him to say goodbye. Such small joys.

 

 

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Grateful responses

August 19th, 2010 by Regina Brett

A big thanks to all of you who have emailed or called to express gratitude for God Never Blinks. Today a woman named Patricia called to say the book motivated her to go back and finish college. She plans to graduate from Cleveland State University in December next year.

 

Here are a few recent emails:

 

“Thank you for one of the best lines ever: 'Throw your body against the door to keep the demons from advancing and stay put until they go away.' And they do go away….which took me the better part of 50 years to learn, and I’m still learning. Thank you for your consistent insight and compassion. I’ll memorize that line and press play in my head when I need it.” - Gerry

 

“When I was 16, I got pregnant and married the father of my child. At the age of 17, I was a wife, mother and high school dropout. I felt my life would never be different. I loved my husband and child more than life itself, but I had so many passions, desires, hopes and dreams.

 

“Over the course of the next 20 years, I had another child and worked as a teaching assistant at a local school. Three years ago, I walked across the stage at a four-year university and was handed the diploma I worked so hard for. Persistence had paid off for me.

 

"When I read your book, I felt like some of the chapters were written just for me. Wow! I laughed, I smiled, I cried and I woke up. I woke up to the 'rut' I have found myself in and looked in the mirror to see more possibilities than I could have ever imagined.

 

“My college degree was just the beginning of my journey. Not the end of something I had always wanted. Your book is the most inspiring book (next to the Bible) I have ever read. I cannot begin to tell you how 'fired up' I am about the life I was given. I am a gift to this world, to my family, to God and to myself. Thank you for letting me see things from your perspective. My life will never be the same because of you. I read the book within a day and a half. (I had to stop to sleep!). This book should be presented to every single high school graduate when they walk across the state. It is life changing.” – Ginger

 

“I just wanted to thank you for writing God Never Blinks. This book has helped me work through a lot of stuff over the last few months. The girl of my dreams left me after a long relationship deciding she couldn't handle my faith. It devastated me for quite a while. Life lost all meaning and I couldn't find joy in any activities. I spent a long time going through as many books as I could get my hands on, and yours was sitting on a shelf and caught my eye while walking through a book store. It has inspired me and helped move me to a place of acceptance and that life will move on and I will not only come out ok but will thrive again.

 

"Looking at what other people have gone through with situation so much larger than what I have had to deal with, and coming out happier with full and meaningful lives helped me through some tough days. I have also gained a desire for writing and helping those around me and have been reaching out beyond my normal comfort zone to see what is out there. I look forward to your next book. Thank you for sharing your stories.” - Kelly

 

And thank you for sharing yours.

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New Radio Show

August 18th, 2010 by Regina Brett

Breaking news...

 

My new radio show debuts on Sept. 8. The Regina Brett Show will air every  Wednesday night on  WKSU 89.7 FM, Northeast Ohio's NPR affiliate. It will be an hour-long call-in show every Wednesday at 7 p.m. I hope you'll join me every week. 

 

Here's the official announcement:

 

Most people don’t go to bed thinking about Senate bills or Supreme Court appointments or the politics in China or the hole in the ozone. They are important issues, but not the most pressing in the daily lives of most Americans. Instead, thoughts turn towards issues like concerns in the workplace, struggling with interpersonal relationships or being a successful parent in a new and different world.

 

Everyone can find themselves searching for new and better approaches when they are sidetracked by life’s detours. On Wednesday, Sept. 8 at 7 p.m., WKSU launches The Regina Brett Show, an hour-long call-in show hosted by columnist and author Regina Brett.

 

The weekly radio show was inspired by Brett’s book God Never Blinks: 50 Lessons for Life's Little Detours, an inspirational collection of essays and stories about the lessons that life had taught based on a popular column she wrote after turning 50.

 

Each show features guests with insights, tips or fresh concepts to help people create a greater life for themselves and for others. Programs will revolve around themes of life’s transitions and universal issues of home, work, community and finding a personal balance.

 

Listeners can call in and share their comments and concerns at 888-WKSU897 or email Letters@WKSU.org.

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80 and counting

August 15th, 2010 by Regina Brett

My mom turned 80 today. Another big landmark birthday.

 

She didn't want any fuss, didn't even want any gifts. I suppose if you don't already own something by the time you turn 80, you don't need it.

 

On the drive to see her, I thought about all the birthdays she celebrated for us. All the cakes and presents she made sure her 11 children got every year, even though she grew up without any fanfare on her birthday. She once told me she had no birthday celebration until she turned 16 and her friends found out it was her birthday.

 

I bought her a few clothes for fall and a box of salt water taffy from the beach. We raised our glasses of sparkling lemonade in a toast "to life" and asked her what wisdom she had to share now that she was 80.

 

"Count your blessings," she said.

 

There's a greeting card that reads, "When I count my blessings, I count you twice."  When I count my blessings, I have to count my mom more than twice. She gave me life, the greatest of all gifts.

 

 

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Language of the heart

August 12th, 2010 by Regina Brett

My grandson still hasn't picked a name for me. He either can't decide or he likes being a little rascal and teasing me by naming everyone in the world except me.

 

He just turned 17 months old and is a chatterbox. He can say "Up," "Aw done," "Mo peez," and "Tank oooh." Put a handful of nectarine slices on his high chair tray and he says, "Neck a reen." Give him some chunks of avocado, and he says, "Cah doh." But he won't say grammy, granny, gramma, or any other facsimile of grandma.

 

We've tried to trick him into it. We go around the table and say, "Say Poppa." The little guy complies. He'll name Da da, Ma ma, Luke, Ben, Joe, Adrienne (who he calls AD), pretty much everyone around the table and everything on the table. But when it comes to me, he just laughs. For a while I wondered if my name was "Ha Ha."  Not that I would mind.

 

He does speak the language of love that has no words. We sat on the floor playing blocks yesterday when I stood to check something in the kitchen. He grabbed my toes and wouldn't let go. He tried to pull me back to him by clinging to my toes. And when I leave, he says, "Muh!" and blows me a kiss.

 

One day he'll reveal who I am to him by name, but for now, his heart knows, and that's enough.

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Tinkers

August 2nd, 2010 by Regina Brett

Just finished reading "Tinkers" by Paul Harding. It won a Pulitzer Prize for fiction.

 

Lovely writing. It's about an old man's last days of life, and a reflection on family, love, loss and beauty.

 

It reads like one long poem: "The clouds halted...next fell the stars, tinkling about him like the ornaments of heaven shaken loose."

 

This was my favorite passage:

 

"And as you split frost-laced wood with numb hands, rejoice that your uncertainty is God's will and His grace toward you and that that is beautiful, and part of a greater certainty...And as the ax bites into the wood, be comforted in the fact that the ache in your heart and the confusion in your soul means that you are still alive, still human, and still open to the beauty of the world, even though you have done nothing to deserve it. And when you resent the ache in your heart, remember: You will be dead and buried soon enough."

 

Enjoy the ache while you are alive to have one.

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Going home

August 1st, 2010 by Regina Brett

A few months ago, we were standing on the front lawn of a friend's house one Sunday morning, saying goodbyes to my husband's friends who had gathered for a little reunion.

 

A car pulled up to the house next door and a handful of people came out and stood on the sidewalk staring at the house. I couldn't help but hear them talk about whether the owner was home so they could get to see the house they grew up in.

 

They were too shy to go to the door and knock, so I went over and did it for them. No one was home, so they left. As they were climbing into their car, the owner of the house pulled into the driveway. I ran to the family in the car and hollered for them to come back. They did, and got a tour of their old homestead.

 

They say you can't go home again. Sometimes you can. It's not the same home, but if it's the house that built you, why not go back and give your thanks?

 

 

 

 

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