This river valley, in the tip of the commonwealth,
which has historically filled the role of stepchild to a city which is now on
the brink of greatness, is where I call home. There is no need to insist to me
that it is already great; I agree and it just keeps getting better. And there is
no need to complain about what is wrong with Cincinnati, my cup is half
full.
I mean, let’s face it; we do live in a pretty unique
region of the world. I am not naive enough to think that there is no other place
like the Greater Cincinnati region; I just believe there are very few. We are
full of so many cultures, landscapes, makes and models that it creates something
for just about anyone (if you are willing to seek it out).
It feels as if some time in the last decade, a great
bolt of lightning must have hit the tallest building in downtown Cincinnati and
spread out like veins filled to somehow connect us all. The veins slowly
streamed to the east and to the west and then across the river, and somehow made
us all part of one great something.
Yes, I may be from Northern Kentucky, but Cincinnati is
my city, too. I care about the people who fill the streets, the businesses and
homes that fill the buildings and all of the people living their dreams.
I have always been a strong advocate for ensuring
Northern Kentucky gets a fair shake in our region. When I travel with friends
who tell strangers they are from Cincinnati, I proudly boast that: “Actually, I
am from Northern Kentucky, just a stone’s throw south of Cincinnati.” I am the
girl who loves the expressions on people’s faces who arrived in the airport’s
Terminals A, B and C only to learn they were in Northern Kentucky, not
Cincinnati.
An Ohio ZIP code just simply would not feel like home
to me. I am a Kentucky girl, but love my city just the same.
The city that I could virtually sketch the skyline full
of rectangles, arches and squares, simply from memory. The city that as a child
I remember traveling to, for what seemed like forever, for Downtown shopping at
Christmastime. The city that now I travel into for amazing dinners,
entertainment and memory-making with our two children. The city that I once was
worried about, but now have eternal, relentless optimism for its future.
It is hard to go anywhere and not know someone. That is
a wonderful thing, sometimes ironic, but wonderful. There is comfort in knowing
someone everywhere I go. There is peace in a sense of small community that I am
afraid we are losing, but I used to so desperately want to go away. And there is
something magical about the way we fit together as tightly as a jigsaw puzzle to
form the place we all call home.
I am proud of what we have become. While the river may
still be an ocean to some, I see us as one great body of land, water and people
who have a bright and promising future together. Maybe it was lightning, or
maybe it was the natural evolution of a city that I am proud to call my home.
I am a storyteller, writer, relationship builder and pr professional. I'm a mother of two crazy boys, wife to my soul mate and a believer of dreams coming true. My chicken little personality always has me prepared for the worst - which (hopefully) never happens.
Monday, August 12, 2013
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Are you a superhero?
According to Wikipedia, some other character traits of a
superhero are; A strong moral code, including a willingness to risk one's own
safety in the service of good without expectation of reward, A motivation, such
as a sense of responsibility, a formal calling, or a strong belief in justice
and humanitarian service.
If you are starting to question if you may actually be a
superhero, there is a good chance you are already or certainly could be someday! While it is not likely you have a secret
identity, wear a costume on days other than Halloween or refer to your home as
“headquarters”, you may be someone’s superhero and not even realize it. Or better yet, maybe you are supposed to be
someone’s superhero if you just answered the figurative bat-phone.Many times it is impossible to know the impact of your superhero actions. You are most definitely someone’s hero when you volunteer your time to help others, giving charitable dollars to a local non-profit or just from being a kind, giving person. Most of us will sleep a little better at night, feeling kind of suerhero-ish from those types of actions. The deeds I mean are the doozies. Something you do that can change another person’s trajectory in life for a minute, a day or maybe even forever.
Before Christmas my husband took some toys that our boys
have outgrown to a local resale store.
The line was very long and he had a limited amount of time to spend there. While he waited in the line, a woman
commented to him that her child would absolutely love one the items he was
holding. He paused for minute, approached
the woman and simply said “Merry Christmas”.
He handed her the toy for her child and went to his car. He will never know what that meant to her or
to her child, maybe nothing. But maybe
it was the gift that made Christmas morning magical for her child.
I work with a superhero.
Last year when I went on vacation, I came back to the news that she
would be out for several weeks because she had given one of her kidney’s to a
family member in need. Not an immediate
family member, but a more distant family member. I remember thinking, “who would do that?” And
the answer is her and hundreds of thousands of superhero’s every single day who
are organ donors.
What if you had the chance to save someone’s life? Would you?
I am mesmerized when I hear a story of a passerby running into a burning
building to save someone. And what about
the many superheroes that put themselves in harm’s way during the tragic
shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary to save so many lives? There is the teacher who believed in a child
that no one else did, and because he did, the child just graduated from
college. That teacher is a
superhero. The mom that gives everything
she has, every single day, so her children have a better a life than she
did. She is without doubt, a superhero. The little girl, who fights cancer with
superhero strength, and is surrounded by a superhero family, superhero doctors,
nurses and friends.
I always ask myself, would I be capable of these same types
of actions? Of saving someone else’s
life or having superhero strength when those around me need it? The truth is, I really hope I have the “hero
gene” if I am faced with the need for it.
Being a hero is more than the golden rule. It’s more than just doing what is right. It is believing in our ability as human beings. We all have the capacity to be extraordinary in everything we do instead of ordinary. We can all create hope for someone who may not have any, we can all give generously without expectation of a return and we can all be someone’s hero.
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