everydayjourney

Statue of Liberty This past weekend, my family and I visited two iconic American destinations, the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. On the 2nd floor of the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration is a room, which highlights the steps necessary to achieve citizenship in the United States. At one of the interactive displays was a sample citizenship test. The United States citizenship test is designed to evaluate a person’s English proficiency as well as their knowledge of American...

I received a card in the mail yesterday from a sweet friend. As I pulled the hand written note from its envelope, I was suddenly transported to a time void of social media and texting, a time of personal connections. Growing up, cards were sent to comfort, cheer, and console. At times, they were simply sent to say, "I was thinking of you today." Whatever the occasion, cards were a way to connect with others. Somewhere along the road to progress, we lost that skill. Many years ago, another...

Stained glass at Washington Memorial Chapel My Mom was rather enterprising as I was growing up. In fact, it was not uncommon for her to learn a new skill only to make it profitable within a few months. From macrame to cross-stitch, my Mom was always engaged in a project and a sale. At one point, she even learned to do stained glass. Once again, she turned her talents into a small business. As her business was gaining traction, my Mom would occasionally drive to NYC to pick up the sheets of...