Last week, I participated in the Scrabble competition at the Senior Olympics at the YMCA. I know what you are going to say, “Scrabble is part of the Olympics?!” Yes! If you know me and my history, every child in our family grew up playing tennis, Canasta and Scrabble. My Mom, Aunt and I played every Sunday until they passed. My grandson has been playing Scrabble for 2 years already. Before game #2, one of my opponents stated proudly that no one in her family will play with her because she always wins—she only plays against the computer now. How sad! My second opponent did not speak much and when he did, spoke haltingly and his hand shook. I felt sorry for him. Ha! Those two sharks beat me! I praised them when they made good plays and thanked them for a challenging game. The Olympics continued all week with Ballroom Dancing, Golf, Bocci, Tennis, Swimming, Bowling, Basketball and many more events. These seniors lead extremely active lives working out at the gym with weights and participating in many exercise classes. If this is the answer to living long, exciting, healthy, full lives, I subscribe wholeheartedly!
On another note, my granddaughter, the youngest member of the family, shared cozy time while I read books to her. She is not yet two but called out words to different pictures in the books—duck, hat, truck, baby! I videotaped her singing a song for 2 minutes in perhaps a language I had never heard, smiling the entire time. At the end, she clapped for herself. Later on, my grandson noticed 12 caterpillars on my parsley plant on the porch and mused how they are eating the whole plant and how they would soon become butterflies. Wow!
At times, I have heard people say--he/she is too old, too young, handicapped, doesn’t understand, cannot learn, is rude because he/she was not raised correctly. Any of these biased remarks can be disproved merely by spending time with the young or old or anyone who needs companionship, understanding, love and maybe even a hug. This past week, I had the privilege of doing just that. Try it! I know you will like it, and you may even learn a thing or two!
Did you take your children to the Staten Island OutLOUD special program for very young readers, Paws & Read OutLOUD for Kidz on Thursday at the Richmondtown Library? Did they read aloud to the gentle, licensed therapy dog? Did you encourage your teen to meet at the Teen Café at the Mariners Harbor Library? Suggest, if you can’t encourage, your teens meet like-minded friends at the Library. Did you attend the Lighthouse Fest in St. George? Did you meet your high school friends at the St. Peter’s High School for Girls Alumnae Brunch? Check out the vibrant senior alumnae from the 40’s, 50’s, ‘60’s? Below are some photos from that event.
If you would like me to post photos from the weekend events you participated in, please let me know. If your organization would like to promote their event or if you have events specifically for children to participate in, or volunteer opportunities, please do not hesitate to call me at 646-258-9696, leave a comment below or e-mail me at
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