We all have stories. Many of us hear our family stories from our elders particularly when we are able to visit our grandparents, uncles, aunts and parents. I learned the importance of storytelling from my mother, who wrote her family’s stories when she was a child in the drylands of West Texas. As children, my cousins and I would sit on the floor listening to our parents, aunts, grandparents and cousins tell stories during the holidays and sometimes on birthdays. There was no television at … [Read more...]
Remembering the Servicemembers Who Meant the Most to Me This Independence Day Weekend
July 4th is such an amazing holiday for all Americans because it reminds us of the pride and honor that comes with being a citizen of this amazing country. Our home, the United States of America, is a special place with people of all different backgrounds, ideologies, and shared experiences. One great part of our country, that we can all rally behind, is our citizens’ deep respect for our nation’s servicemembers. The millions of people who have served in our nation’s military since our … [Read more...]
Honoring the World’s Best Dads
This Father’s Day, as I do every year, I am thinking of two of the best fathers I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing: my own father, Cliff Decker, and my late husband 1st Lt. James L. Hull, who was such a loving father to our daughter, Laura. To me, there was never and will never be anyone who compares to these remarkable men. Though they are no longer with me, I think of them and celebrate them every day by treasuring the memories I have of our times together. Fathers like my dad and Larry … [Read more...]
Picking Up the Pieces: Finding Hope After Loss
During my tenure as School Superintendent of District 90 schools in River Forest, I was blessed to have an amazing school board led by parents who cared passionately about bringing the best educational outcomes to our children and community. One of those parents was Kristin Coe, who served on the board of education for eight years. I always knew I could rely on her raw intelligence and ability to move things forward to advance our agenda, including the passage of an important referendum to help … [Read more...]
May is Mental Health Awareness Month
Since 1949, the month of May has been observed as Mental Health Awareness Month in the United States. Several national organizations such as NAMI, Mental Health America, and other affiliates spotlight Mental Health Awareness Month to elevate the importance of this issue and to help end the stigma surrounding mental health. I was one of those individuals who suffered from a variety of mental health issues at different periods of my life, including clinical depression, self-harm (specifically, … [Read more...]
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