If you had a freeway billboard, what would it say?

Be. Kind. Because so few people are these days. I think that kindness has been replaced by aggression & lying & bullying. Be. Kind. Means you’re the opposite.

You extend a hand out to a neighbor or a stranger on the bus. You’re kind. You hold up the door for someone regardless of gender. That’s kindness.

You talk to dogs in the city tied up outside of stores, you’re kind. When you tip someone that doesn’t expect it.

Be. Kind. Means you do a kind thing people don’t expect & you don’t expect a Thank You or kind word in return.

It doesn’t mean spreading falsities about someone or trying to destroy their reputation. Be. Kind. By doing something that is harmful says more about you then the person you’re talking about. Remember that. It’s the harmful person that wants to believe in falsities Not You. Because you know better. That’s what my sign would say. Be. Kind.

Do you spend more time thinking about the future or the past? Why?

Ever since the Ukrainian war started I’ve been focusing on the here & now. As the world can change in a heartbeat.

By being focused on every day I feel that I can focus on the current moment. I feel that by doing that I am happier as a person. Being present means being in whatever is happening in that time & staying with it. Like listening to my dog snore in the afternoon while he’s napping on the couch.

My past was turbulent & unsteady so I stay in the now & focus on whatever is happening. The future is the next minute not tomorrow or next month.

How do you stay in the present?

What is the greatest gift someone could give you?

I think that there are many gifts that would be grand but to me the greatest gift I have gotten is safety. What do I mean by that, well my upbringing & a majority of my adulthood has been living in situations that were not safe including my own house where I grew up.

To me the greatest gift of my life has been safety. The ability to do & say what I want without being hit or psychologically abused because of it. Safety means many things to many people. For me it’s the ability to be me & not face repercussions from it.

Some may think that feeling safe is a stupid idea or being with someone that makes you feel safe. However, if you are never allowed to express your true feelings or emotions where you live, you’re not in a safe space. I look at like this, how do you react when there’s turbulence on an airplane? Do you go into fight or flight mode or do you take steady controlled breaths that make you feel more safe? Well, if you ever go into fight or flight mode for expressing yourself where you live, you’re not in a safe space.

By being in a safe space for the over the decade long marriage I have had means both my husband & I can say what we feel. For me that’s the greatest gift. Safety.