by Michele Tester Good Luck, Bad Luck, Or No Luck At All? March features St. Patrick’s Day,  a day honoring the patron saint of Ireland, Saint Patrick, and marking the anniversary of his death in the 5th century. Over time, the day has evolved into a global celebration of Irish culture, heritage, festivities, the color…

by Michele Tester TRADITIONS I tend to go a bit overboard for Christmas. If you ask my husband and my children, they would probably say “a bit” was a vast understatement. I love everything about Christmas. I love decorating inside and outside. I love what Christmas symbolizes. I love the Christmas spirit that surrounds the…

by Michele Tester High Expectations The Root of all Heartache? Wisdom comes with age, right? I remember hearing that when I was young and thinking to myself, Well, that’s good, I’ll finally have answers to my questions and gain better insight. To be honest, the older I’ve gotten, the less I feel I understand about…

by Michele Tester The Family We Choose Friendship is both simple and complex. The simple truth: To HAVE a good friend, you have to BE a good friend. The complexities, well, they come from being human. From our shifting life stages, our personal growth, our evolving needs, our mounting expectations, our insecurities, our differences, and,…

by Michele Tester An interesting thing happened to me while I was trying to think of a topic to write about for my column this month. As I was going through my mail one afternoon, I saw an envelope with my name and address handwritten on the front. I didn’t recognize the return address. It…

MICHEL TESTER The Greatest Teacher Of All My dad passed away unexpectedly four days before Thanksgiving, seven months after he walked me down the aisle at my wedding. I was only twenty-four years old. I was sitting at home writing him a poem that I intended to give him as a gift on Christmas. I…

MICHEL TESTER “Moms Are People Too” “Behind every great kid is a mom who is pretty sure she’s screwing it all up.” ~ Unknown My mother passed away in 2018, following a 10-year-long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. Caring for my mother and watching her fade away over those years, two words always come first to…

MICHEL TESTER A Forgotten Art?    Is the act of listening a forgotten art? I don’t know about you, but I’m sadly starting to think listening has gone by the wayside. There are times when I am having a conversation with someone and wondering to myself: Are they even listening to me? To be perfectly…

MICHEL TESTER Love is a Verb I LOVE YOU. Three powerful words. Yet, the truth is, they are just that, words, unless they are followed up by actions. Love is a verb. It requires doing. The fact is that nothing truly worth having is ever without effort and sacrifice. There are many types of love.…

by Michele Tester“A Tall Christmas Tale” It was the evening before the night before Christmas, and all through the town, citizens were busily scurrying all around. In anticipation, in excitement, in cheer…of jolly old Saint Nick’s arrival this year. Darting to-and-fro, to their favorite local restaurants and stores, with merry excitement of that one final…

by Michele Tester“Not In The Same House” November is the month in which we celebrate Thanksgiving, an annual holiday celebrating the harvest and other blessings of the past year, a day when we gather with family and friends to enjoy a bountiful feast and to take the time to reflect on what and who we…

by Michele Tester“Chomping at the Bit” I don’t know about you, but I constantly feel like I’m being rushed and pushed to the next “thing.” Whatever happened to basking in the moment, enjoying the season you are in? It seems that we are constantly being reminded to be mindful, to live in the moment, seize…