Take a moment to appreciate

I know I am not alone when I say the news makes me sad. For a long time, the news has been a source of continuous negativity, disappointment and concern. I don’t know what is worse – the actual story or how it is presented. Both are equally hard to watch.

It does, however, make you think. Think about how lucky we are to live where we do. If the news provides anything good, it should make us appreciate it. Good things! 

Soon we will be riding our bikes around town, racing to soccer games on Saturday mornings and baseball parks, sitting outside at a restaurant having a meal or enjoying an ice cream or a glass of wine watching the sunset at Huntington Beach. We run into old friends at coffee shops, banks, grocery stores and ice cream parlors. We get to feel safe. That alone is a privilege.  

Our children get to go to good schools with teachers who care about them. They ride their bikes and leave them in bike racks, mostly without locks. We have police officers who are good and kind and help our children learn about safety and the importance of good choices. They show them their cars and trucks at the Touch-a-Truck event. We have a rose garden, a historical society and fireworks on the 4th of July.

We have moms and dads who volunteer their time as coaches, drivers and lunch helpers. They volunteer their free time to their children and their children’s friends because it is important that our children experience a childhood.

Yes, I think it’s pretty great here in Bay Village, Ohio. We should appreciate this life and this town. At a time when there is so much uncertainty in the world, we get to live where neighbors smile and wave at each other. Many times, the entire town seems to be one big backyard. It’s special here.    

It’s not perfect. We have heated school board meetings, midges in June and slow drivers. If the worst thing that happens to you is being stuck behind someone going too slow on Wolf Road, I think you’re doing great. If you don’t think so ... turn on the news.

Colleen Harding

President of The Cleveland School of Etiquette and Corporate Protocol.   I am a member St Raphael Women's Guild, Friends of the Westside Catholic Center and The Avon Oaks Women's Golf Association.

I live in Bay Village with my husband and 3 children.   

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Volume 14, Issue 9, Posted 10:37 AM, 05.03.2022