#35 – “Always wash the drinking glasses first, when the dishwater is cleanest.” (My son Colt, granddaughter Sydney, daughter-in-law Lovie, daughter JoLene, son Cuatro, Me, Mom, 2002, Gray Moss Inn, San Antonio)
Nearly everyone asks me the same three questions about the one hundred things my mom taught me a million times:
1. Do you really have one hundred things?
2. How do you decide what to write about?
3. Why do you write about the one hundred things?
The short answers are, yes, I really have one hundred things. I write “ stream-of-consciousness” whatever comes out as I think about the randomly chosen “thing of the day” and the memories they conjure. I write about the one hundred things to capture and record my memories of my mom and as a tribute to her. I also write because I love to write and every famous writer says that if you want to be a really good writer you must write, write, write.
Which brings me to drinking glasses and dishwater. I don’t want to over-think this one of one hundred things my mom taught me a million times, but then I never really know where I’m going with these things. Click on Read More Below...
I learned something new and useful at last Thursday’s Very Smart Gals luncheon at Cipollina’s. Size matters, when it come to luncheon tables. On those rare occasions that I’ve hosted luncheons that required more than four chairs, and we’ve ended up at a rectangular table, the conversations tended to be between people sitting across from or next to each other, which limited the interactions. King Arthur’s round table wasn’t just about equal status, it was about hearing everyone, and gal howdy there was some muy rico repartee going on last Thursday between Lisa Stark-Walsh, Fayruz Benyousef, Harriett Kirsh-Pozen and Benita Giller.
New York gal, Lisa Stark Walsh, MA is the Executive Director of the Texas Medical Association Foundation, which among many, many other things, provides Texas children with helmets to prevent head and brain injury while riding a bike. We were intrigued with her story of her and her husband’s adoption of a child from China. I did a little grant writing for Lisa some years ago and was so impressed by her that I determined to keep her in my circle of Very Smart Gals. Benita Giller is a nationally recognized artist and prolific world traveler, always in search of beads and inspiration for her beautiful jewelry and other artwork. Ironically, although we both live in Austin, we met in Italy at an artist retreat (me being the only non-artist in attendance). In addition to being staggeringly creative, she’s got a super-dry wit that I adore. What a lucky day that I met Benita!
Harriett Kirsh-Pozen is a wonderful person and the Executive Director of a wonderful organization, Candlelight Ranch, an outdoor camp for families and special needs kids. Harriett was one of the major masterminds behind the Dell Jewish Community Center, and due to her sincere and engaging personality and sharp mind, is very well connected in Austin. It took about 10 seconds for Harriett and Benita to figure out that that although they’ve never met, they know a lot of the same people and may even be related. Fayruz Benyousef, CFRE, Partner, The Dini Partners, is a star in the non-profit fundraising industry and one of the most highly respected gals in the business. She was the Development Director with Ballet Austin, is a past president of the Austin Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) and was named the 2006Outstanding Fundraising Professional of the Year by AFP - Austin. Fayruz has a precious little daughter who is super-lucky to have such a smart mom!
I feel so fortunate to have such stimulating and “together” women in my life! Thanks gals for bringing your wit and brilliance to my table!
Good Day and welcome to the Gals – Very Smart Gals blog. My name is SueAnn Wade-Crouse, and I am a very proud mother of three and grandmother of eight, and have been happily married for 20+ years to an extraordinary man. I am also a development consultant/grant writer, over-reader, camper and closet recluse. I have walked on the coals of life and survived and become stronger from that which hasn’t killed me. My life is blessed with abundant and magnificent family and friends. Thank you for visiting my blog. I hope that you will post a comment, subscribe, and email the site to your friends. Lust for Life.
What the heck is Gals – Very Smart Gals? I originally created the Very Smart Gals blog because I wanted, or perhaps needed, to record my memories of my recently departed mom, Willie Belle Forbes Wade. Willie was a wile old gal who taught her four daughters and one son many things, not the least of which was to make friends with smart women. Since she was a schoolteacher by trade, she tended to teach her life lessons over and over (the reinforcement principal), so I decided a good way to memorialize my mom and capture her wisdom was to repeat the things she taught me. Voila! “One Hundred Things My Mom Taught Me A Million Times,” the anchor of the Gals – Very Smart Gals blog, was born. Another thing Willie taught us was to read, read, read. Aware of my reading addiction, friends often ask, “What’s good?” So, I began reviewing books on my Gals – Very Smart Gals blog as well, even drawing comments from some of the authors of books reviewed. Then in the fall of 2009, one of the 350+ gals on my list of Very Smart Gals said, “Who are the Very Smart Gals? Why are you keeping all of them to yourself?” So, I began a series of lunches and happy hours to introduce 3-6 women at each get together. The outcome was magical and difficult to define. There were women I had known for 20 years I didn’t know knew each other. There were rediscovered friendships. Gals even discovered shared distant relatives! And each lunch or happy hour ended with very smart gals knowing more very smart gals. The Very Smart Gals live all over the US; they’re every age and every color; they’re wealthy and barely scraping by. In fact, their only common denominator, other than being female, is “smart.”I also tend to be reclusive, so getting the Very Smart Gals together is part of my self-induced therapy, to get me out of my shell. So, what’s the agenda of the Very Smart Gals; what is the deeper meaning? Very Smart Gals is about women appreciating, honoring and supporting each other, and according to wile Willie, that is important enough.
"Very Smart Galsis a very smart blog from SueAnn Wade-Crouse. It covers books, artists, charities and music, along with family reflections from Wade-Crouse's intentional life. Like the best blogs, it blends its author's personality with potentially useful information."
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