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“The things that make me different are the things that make me.”—A.A. Milne It’s National Autism Awareness month. I haven’t had a lot of experience with autism, but I know it affects many people in my community. To raise my awareness, I did some research including reading articles, watching videos and following several Instagram accounts. It’s a far cry from living with autism, but it’s a start in my understanding of this disorder. Knowledge leads to compassion and acceptance. Here are a few of the many things I learned: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is “a brain disorder that that affects a...

May 9 is Teacher Appreciation Day. Who sparked your love of learning, inspired you and built your self-confidence? I love teaching when: The light bulb goes on and they finally get what you have been teaching. — Cheryl, middle school band teacher for 22 years. My favorite teacher was: Mrs. LaPlante, my French teacher. I don't remember a lick of French, but I remember how much fun I had in her class! We had a small class and she made a point of getting everyone involved and made us feel like we all mattered. — Helen Mr. Bierer, my public...

I figure that because my mom and sisters are amazing seamstresses, I must be too. It's in my genes. I grew up watching them sew and I took home economics in sixth grade. Sewing prowess isn't reallly hereditary and my son wore a sad bat costume one Halloween. I made my own pattern so it barely fit, the seams were crooked, the hat was a mess and it wasn’t what I envisioned. The next year I called on Mom. Many of my seams are still crooked, but I keep sewing. We may have natural talent, we may have earned skill,...

Which door would they choose: Average or Beautiful?

It’s mid-January. The time when so many New Year’s Resolutions are really beginning to fail. I don’t believe in New Year’s Resolutions for many reasons. The biggest are too much pressure and too much guilt. We have enough of both already. Why add to it? Especially right after the stress of the holidays. Often, people make large, vague resolutions. "I'm going to get in shape!" Three weeks later, they're feeling overwhelmed with the day-to-day, have missed a couple work-outs, feel bad about themselves and give up We all have things we want to do better, areas to improve and goals...