During the season, we watch a fair amount of baseball games on TV. The commentators, needing to fill time, say some very boring things. Honestly, it seems as if they are paid by the word.  If I were a commentator, the game would be second to discussing people in the audience, the player’s personal lives and general baseball gossip. I think I could make a somewhat slow game, a bit more interesting.

Who does all the baseball team’s laundry? That’s my burning question. Do they have a ton of uniforms so when they are out on the road, there’s no need to worry about laundry. Do they really get out those stains out from sliding and fielding or do they just throw those pants out? Is there an industrial laundry room at Nats Park? If I were a commentator, I’d find out and tell you.

I would tell you things like the number of players that do the sign of the cross before batting versus the number of players that don’t (obvious heathens). I’d find out why all the baseball managers lack the ability to smile. I’d give a run down on single players, you know, giving them a little help to find a mate. They are busy – not easy to meet people. I guess I’d have to have a partner who was better with the stats and stuff. A good balance I believe.

I’m too late for this season but maybe next…

This isn’t really a baseball song per se…enjoy!

Did anyone else watch the documentary Sunday night about Glen Campbell? It was both heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time. The documentary “I’ll be Me” features Campbell’s fight with Alzheimer’s disease. Despite the diagnoses, he toured for some time until finally, it was painfully obviously, that he couldn’t continue.

The film outlined his good days and the enviable bad ones. It showed crowds cheering him on despite mistakes and his family working to keep him happy. What really struck me was the power of music. Even when it seemed he was having a bad day before the concert, somehow, the ability to play and perform was still there. Near the end of the tour that, sadly,  diminished as well. During each concert he would do this bit with his daughter, Ashley, where they mimicked each other – he on the guitar, she on the banjo.  Really fantastic stuff. She noted that as the disease progressed, it was harder and harder for him to follow her. Must be so hard to see him slip each day.

You see videos online all the time of people who seem lost in their thoughts with dementia come to life when a familiar song is played. What is it about music that is so deep in our memory and so powerful that upon hearing it, we come alive? Campbell’s doctor noted that it appeared that the longer he was playing and singing, the better his mind was. Unfortunately, Alzheimer’s always wins.

5.3 million Americans have Alzheimer’s today. 200,000 of those are below the age of 65 and suffer from early-onset Alzheimer’s. Two-thirds of Alzheimer’s patients are women. An estimated that 250,000 children and young adults between ages 8 and 18 provide help to someone with Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia.Those are sobering facts.

At the end of the documentary, Campbell sang his last song “I’m Not Gonna Miss You.” I don’t have it on my IPod, but I almost don’t need it. It has been haunting me ever since. Can’t get the words or tune out of my head.

Today we gained a second. I’m not sure exactly when in the day we gained it but I probably wasted it. I was probably looking at Facebook. Oh well, maybe next time I will put it to better use.

I’m a morning person. My prime time is in the morning. I try to organize my day at work to do important, mind-requiring things in the morning. Around 2 pm, when my mind starts slowing down, I do all the mindless tasks. I’ve never been a night owl. Never been anyone to study into the wee hours of the morning. If I didn’t know something by 10 pm, I wasn’t going to learn it unless I could do it at 5 am the next morning. One time I stayed up working on a project for work until 2am. I was so excited. See, I’m not old – I can stay up late. Then the headache came on. Right in the middle of my forehead like I was a Cyclopes. Had it for two days and then I got a twitch under my eye. So much for feeling young.

We all wish we had more time. More time to pursue our dreams. More time with family. More time doing whatever. Yet, we are wasting time lamenting the need for more time. I know I waste time. Watching “Naked and Afraid” is an hour I’ll never get back. Taking quizzes online to see which character from of “Grease” or “Friends” I’m most like is a waste of time.  But, we all need a break from real life – time to wind down. At least that’s how I rationalize it…

For the last two years, instead of making a New Year’s resolution to diet or stop eating whatever, I’ve resolved to see my FB and other friends in person.  It really isn’t as easy as it seems but I’m thrilled to be able to do so when I get the chance. There’s never a waste of time when you spend it with someone you enjoy. Facebook and online chatting just isn’t the same. You need the face-to-face.

Skype/FaceTime is close although sometimes things get strange. A few weekends ago we were Skyping with my stepdaughter and for some reason, it seemed that only her teeth and hair were clear. Creepy. Or there’s the delay.  Either way, always good to hear someone’s voice even if it isn’t matching the movement of their lips.

So, go out and enjoy your extra second. I can tell you later who I most resemble from “Friends.”

What’s with everyone running marathons or half-marathons? Seems like everyone I know is taking part in one of these two types of events. Used to be only the serious runners ran any type of marathon or maybe someone, trying to cross something off their bucket list, ran. Now everyone is into them. Except me.

Last year my friend Claire ran the Marine Corp marathon. It was her first marathon. I didn’t really know how long a marathon should take but 6-8 hours seemed reasonable. Not because I thought she’s be slow but because she was running 26+ miles, for goodness sake.  I signed up for notifications so I’d know where she was during the race. After the second one I realized that maybe it wouldn’t take that long. When I finally got her final time, I was floored. It was a great time. I was talking to a running fanatic at work the next day and he told me if she took off 20 minutes from her time, she’d qualify for the Boston Marathon.  That’s pretty damn impressive.

The other day at lunch I was talking to two running fanatics and one of them, having just completed a 24 hour relay race (can we all agree that’s CRAZY?) was complaining how middle-aged women who do the Avon 3 day walk for cancer get overconfident and sign up for these crazy races.  I’m a middle aged woman who did the 3 day walk and somehow I missed the calling.

When I got back to my desk, I found the most ridiculous trail race I could find and sent it to him with the note “I walked to and from the bathroom twice today without getting winded. I think I’m ready for this.” He thinks I’m a riot but included a note about how tough that race can be. Yeah, like I would even consider it.

Saturday night I’m out with friends – one I know to be a runner and the other, big surprise, just completed his first marathon. They were making plans to meet at 7am to go for a run. Hope they had fun – I was still sleeping when they finished.

Run, my friends, run. I’m proud of you.  I’m glad to be your cheerleader. Glad to donate when you run for a good cause. Hope you cross the marathon off your bucket list soon so you can sit back and relax with me.

Kathryn and I were at the mall today and I was having a chat with her about the difference between needing something and wanting something. She wants everything; she needs little. Then we wandered into Old Navy and I saw a Washington Nationals shirt I liked. The shirt falls in the want, not need, category so I decided to finish that lecture another time.

Out of all four kids, Kathryn is the one that enjoys sports the most. Finally, Mike has a pal to watch games with him. Matthew has gotten somewhat interested in sports over the past few years but Kathryn is up for watching or attending any hockey and baseball game. She’s not that into football except to find out if her teacher’s favorite team won so she can judge what mood they will be in the next day at school. Kathryn will watch games on her own, especially the afternoon baseball games and if we are out and missing a game, she keeps us updated via social media. She’s a harsh critic if they don’t win and is not shy about calling the out umps if she thinks they’ve slighted her Nats.

I got into baseball one summer during college. I was working in the evenings at a radio station calling people to see which songs they wanted played on the radio, and of course, we made most of those calls during dinner hours.  My Dad thought baseball was the most boring sport ever and couldn’t believe that I had an interest. Thing is, with baseball, the teams play each other enough that you get to know all the teams. I guess that’s true for most sports but in baseball, they have the series so it’s three days of hearing all the stats. You feel like you know everyone. The year I was watching Keith Hernandez played for the Mets and I was thrilled to get to meet him in person on the Hill at a reception. Of course, I had to have my picture taken with him.

At college, I lived for two years in the midst of most of the VCU baseball players. We would go to their games and cheer them on like any good groupies would and spend the weekends hanging out with them. At least one of them went on to play in the major leagues. We knew him when…They used to kid each other and if one of them didn’t play, they would blast this song for them as a joke.

Kathryn’s in a good mood these days as the Nats have been winning lately. Dear Nats, please keep it that way!

It’s been pouring most of the day today., very gloomy.  I must belong to every weather alert there is as I have received 20+ emails and text messages about the bad weather. It’s a bit overboard but at least I’m on top of it, especially if I have my phone with me.

When the June numbers come out for the economic sectors, the auto repair industry can thank our family for single-handedly keeping them afloat this month. Before Mike went to CA with Kristina, his air conditioner was acting up. They thought it was a switch but turns out it needed a new compressor just like Kristina’s car did out in CA. As I was taking Mike to drop off his car for the repair, my AC went out. New compressor needed. While they were fixing Mike’s AC, they found some other issue that has to be fixed so his car goes back in on Monday. Ugh.

My car spent the day there today because since the compressor repair, there’s been a rattling noise that is quite annoying. Of course, when we took it today, the noise was gone until I was driving it back home. Why does that always happened?

The mechanic told us he was driving it around to try and get the noise to happen as it wasn’t making the noise in the garage.  When I got in the car “Purple Rain” was blaring from a CD I had in the player. When I left the car, the CD playing was a book I’ve been listening to that obviously wasn’t that interested in.

So today, for the mechanic, I’ll pick “Purple Rain” from my IPod.

It’s been a week of change, hasn’t it? We are seeing the Confederate Flag being removed and taken down all over the country. You can debate the real reason for the flag, but the reality is, no matter what it was supposed to stand for, it has become a symbol of oppression and hate. Time to put it to rest. As someone who graduated from J.E.B Stuart High School, named for Confederate cavalry leader,  I realize it might be time to change that name too. Maybe we shouldn’t name our schools are war “heroes.” History has a way of changing how we view them.

Sadly, the flag can easily be replaced by another object that represents the same hatred. And let’s face it, a flag didn’t kill those people in Charleston and all the other places in the U.S. So the gun battle continues. The removal of the flag, while I believe important, won’t change what is in people’s hearts.

Today, we heard the Supreme Court declare that same-sex couples have a right to marry anywhere in the United States.  For many of us, this seemed like a no-brainer, but you can never be sure how the Court will rule. Congratulations to everyone who’s been waiting to wed or have their marriages recognized. So many of us celebrate with you today.

It is an exciting time to be alive – so many changes in my lifetime and I’m not that old! The changes that have occurred socially, politically and culturally in the last 50 years are amazing. So today I picked another obvious tune from my IPod – the one song where I can actually understand what Bob Dylan is singing – “For the Times They are A-Changin’.”

A friend at work  was telling me who he had finally gotten around to viewing the “Daily Show” that ran the day after the Charleston shootings. He was so taken with Jon Stewart’s guest  Malala Yousafzai. He said how he wished he had a passion for a cause like she does. He was envious. that at such a young age, she had found her passion. While we work at a non-profit, we don’t interact with the youth involved.  I did volunteer for a program on Monday where I have to play the role of someone who denies youth health care as part of a bigger exercise on healthy living. Seems like they could have selected a Republican to take that role. Just kidding. Sort of.

After lunch, I remembered that the link was finally posted from the TEDxStormontWomen event in Belfast from late May. My friend, the fabulous Heather McCormick, was one of the speakers at the event. As I started listening to her talk on selfless leadership, I was taken by something she said “Serve selflessly in the things that make your heart sing.” Immediately I was brought back to my conversation earlier in the day. No denying that educating women makes Yousafzai’s heart sing. Heather serves on a few charities that empower women in different ways. Those charities make her heart sing.

As I was driving home, I was asking myself whats make my heart sing. What inspires me? I’ve been involved in a lot of volunteer endeavors. Some truly voluntary and some, well, not so much. Maybe my heart sang for those causes at the time. .A few years ago, I took a break from pretty much all my volunteer roles. It was a great time of re-charging and then coming back to those that really meant something to me.  As I eased back into the volunteer world,I helped with a Lenten fundraiser for our sister parish in Haiti. And after leaving my paying role at Washington Ireland Program, I’ve stayed on one of the fundraising event committees.

I think the idea of helping young people be all they can be is at the core of my charitable song. Whether it is giving kids in Haiti books or uniforms for school so they can get an education or bringing together college age youth to change the face of their future and perhaps their countries’ future, this is what makes my heart sing. There’s nothing greater to seeing people flourish personally and professionally.

Heather talks about empowering women to lead where they are. We can all lead from where we are. We just need our song. I challenge you to “Serve selflessly in the things that make your heart sing.” Maybe you need to sort through what you are doing now or maybe you just need to step up and do something for a cause or charity you are passionate about. You will know it when your heart sings.

While cliche, I’ve picked “I am Woman” by Helen Reddy as a nod to Heather and Malala’s passion for empowering women.

I’ve also posted a link to Heather’s talk  –

Today was my much anticipated mental health day off and trip to Amish country with my friends Bronagh and Andrew and my daughter Kathryn.  It was a great day. The weather was perfect and we took a very interesting buggy ride through Amish and Mennonite farms and actually got to stop and tour an Amish dairy farm.

The father and two of the children are up at 5 am milking the cows for two hours and then back at 5 pm for another two hours of milking. The farmer has a contract with Land O’Lakes, which picks up the milk every other day and according to the chart on the wall, picked up 9700+ pounds of milk the last pickup. That’s a lot of milk. The cows have a nutritionist, no joke, who provides the farmer with the right mix of feed.

One of the sons of the farmer sold us homemade cookies and pretzels along with lemonade and homemade root beer. Andrew said the root beer reminded him of some sort of cough medicine from home in Ireland so he wasn’t a fan.  I thought it tasted good though. Not a bad gig for the kid allowing us to all gawk at him. He was also selling painted horseshoes for $5. He’s got quite the business.

The farm land is truly beautiful and so picturesque. After our buggy ride and a late lunch, we took a ride around by ourselves through the small towns surrounding Bird in Hand. Must be strange to have people just driving by staring at you all the time but let’s face it, it is a fascinating lifestyle.

I was so thankful to have an adventure with Bronagh before she heads home and to see Andrew, who’s back this summer. Lots of laughs. Lots of sharing of memories. Lots of memories made.

Today from my IPod I picked, “Thank You for Being a Friend.” I’m so thankful for my circle of friends and thankful that I got to spend time with two of them today.

Tonight, there was something sticky on the floor in front of the refrigerator. I asked Kathryn if she knew what it was. “It might be watermelon,” she said. She went on to explain the watermelon fell out onto the floor. When I asked why she didn’t clean it up, she replied “I did, I let the dog lick it up.”  Well, there you go. Now that her sister is gone, she has found someone else to blame.

Meanwhile, as we try to watch “Wheel of Fortune” which Mike and I use to keep our minds sharp, severe weather alerts are interrupting the show. Mike thinks we make too big out a deal out of normal storms. I think, since the derecho a few years ago, we are more alert to severe weather. That storm was supposed to be strong but I’m not sure it was expected to shut the area down for so many days. I remember walking the dog the next morning thinking it looked like a nature war zone – trees down, leaves and branches everywhere. Hope we won’t experience that anytime soon.

I’m currently listening to Carl Hiaasen’s book “Dance of the Reptiles” in the car on the way to work. This book is a collection of his columns. and the topics generally have an environmental theme of some sort in them. As a Floridian, he is shocked to see the beauty of the state he grew up in, disappear as we continue to build on the land and disrespect the animals and nature there. All his fiction books have a similar theme. If you haven’t read any of his books, you should. Very funny.

Maybe it is global warming that caused the dercho and this severe weather we see across the country. I’d never heard of the term derecho before that storm a few years ago and now I see it all the time. Is it new? Maybe El Nino, whatever that weather system is, is causing all this bad weather. If we asked, he’d probably blame his sister, El Nina. Unless they have a dog.