Spring break is frequently associated with warm climate locations such as Daytona Beach, Panama City Beach, and Cancun, Mexico. It is typically attended by students partying regardless of participants' age or educational level. But Spring break can also be one of the best times to gather your grandkids and get them out of town, giving their parents a "Spring Break" of their own. With cold weather beginning to fade, everyone is eager to spend some time just relaxing and having fun in the sun. Whether your trip involves planes, trains, or automobiles, it's just the perfect time to get out and be together, making memories that will last a lifetime.

Thinking back to when I grew up, life was simple. Not only did I play outside with no adult supervision, I remember playing in the street. We played tennis, kickball and even baseball in the street. As cars would come, we would step aside and resume the game after they passed. When the street lights came on, we headed home. Walking a mile to school at four years old didn't seem unusual at the time. Or our summer excursion to the library to pick out books were all unsupervised. In first grade, I was responsible for walking home from school to make my dad his lunch. I would arrive at an empty house, except for our dachshund, Jadwiga. On the menu, soup, and sandwich. My mom pre-made the sandwich before she went to work; the soup, however, required a can opener and heating it up on the stove. All this taught me responsibility, independence, and confidence. However, things changed when I became a mom.

In a world of 24/7 news, where the latest drama dominates the headlines, the more negative and devastating the stories, the higher the ratings. During this time, it is worth remembering that our capacity for generosity and kindness has been part of us long before TV decided what to applaud and report.

"Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children, play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood," Fred Rogers, aka Mr. Rogers. Children need various types of daily play to support meaningful learning opportunities as they develop language, social, emotional, and cognitive abilities. The types of play include physical, dramatic, sensory, music and art, nature, and age-appropriate play.

I know, I know, we are already 17 days into 2022, and now, all these days later, I want to talk about New Year's resolutions! A little late, perhaps? Maybe not.

You might have conducted a quick Google™ search when you were thinking about your 2022 plans back in December. If you were so inclined to take that quick Google search, it took you, in less than .60 seconds, to over 140,000,000 possible new year's resolution ideas for 2022.

According to Wikipedia, "Scrabble is a word game in which two to four players score points by placing tiles, each bearing a single letter, onto a game board divided into a 15×15 grid of squares. The tiles must form words that, in crossword fashion, read left to right in rows or downward in columns, and be included in a standard dictionary." Research shows that playing games can improve children's abilities to organize, plan and get along with others. In addition, play helps with language, math, and social skills and even helps children cope with stress.

With this New Year, I began reflecting on the past. Long ago, when life was simple. No "peaceful protests" or looting happened back in 1968, right? Mine were fond memories of childhood with my own unique hideaway space, the crawl space under the stairs. It was safe from the outside world and insulated me from the happenings of that era. Unaware was I about the Civil Rights movement or the Chicago Riots after Martin Luther King was assassinated. Little did I know about the Vietnam War except that my godfather fought in it. It started my thinking of why special places are essential.

Memories are an interesting thing!

We all have memories, good and bad. Some of these memories are vague, and others are with us as if it were yesterday when the event occurred. One thing for certain. We all have vivid memories of our childhood Christmas'. These memories run deep. When asked, or when the first Christmas tree is put up or the holiday songs begins, our memories of the traditions, the stories, the road trips, and the gifts come rushing back to us as if it was just yesterday. But I must ask.