Category: Contributors

“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”  Nelson Mandela On December 12, 2017, I retired as Executive Director of the Long Island Volunteer Center (LIVC) after 20 years.  It was a symbolic date for me–the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Joan Imhof (the …

When I was 13 years old our neighborhood paper boy “Jay” was attracted to me and started to gain my parent’s trust. After a few months, they hired him to renovate our bathroom in the den. He would hang around after work and visit me on Friday and Saturday night when my parents went out. …

I recently turned 60, and realized it has been 20 years since I took up a hobby that would change my life forever. In 1998, we redid our bathroom, and I somehow convinced my husband to let me create a faux finish on the new walls. I had zero experience, and no clue of what …

About 10 years ago, I found myself in a life-changing situation. I had always worked in an office. I was, at that point, an office manager for a title insurance company. If you recall, around 2007-2008, the real estate market started to plummet. Sadly, the company I had worked for for many years ended up …

My crazy story started over 29 years ago. I was a young professional who started working at Eastman Kodak only 5 weeks after graduation from UMASS Amherst. I relocated from my hometown in Pittsford, New York to pursue my dream of Living and Working in New York City. I left my college sweetheart to finish …

Back in 2013 I was overweight, unhappy in my job and felt overwhelmed everyday with being stuck! A coworker of mine introduced me to a product line called Isagenix. I didn’t know at the time there was any kind of business opportunity attached to it, but I started the program off hoping it would help …

They say that every person will get fired at least once in their lifetime. Yet, at my tender age of 23 I was sure that statistic did not apply to me. I had been recruited by a middle-aged business woman who I met on the Long Island Railroad. We shared long conversations for months on …

A starting point of a journey that led them to where they are today. Mine began around the time when my father got sick. I’ll never forget it. It was Memorial Day weekend 2001. Six weeks later he passed away, on July 4th of all days. That was a hard one…the world was celebrating and …

I opened a little boutique in a trendy area near my house in 2004 and kept it going for four years. but closed it in 2008. That’s when the economy turned and things got a bit tough for a small business. Then I found the job I have now after looking and trying to figure …

So my husband suddenly dies in March 2018 from a massive heart attack, and my life is now all about moving on and moving forward. At least that’s what everyone told me I had to do. Well what if I didn’t want to move forward? What if I wanted to stay in my home of 25 years, where …