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31 Oct

Posted at 17:14h in A Message from Dawn, Community News
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The pain was fierce. Not fierce like when your husband has a cold, but still awful.  😊 Although I came to work that Halloween day several years ago, I ended up urgently seeking a doctor’s attention before the day was done.  I’m obviously still here, so it wasn’t anything life-threatening.  But, he did write me a prescription which I had filled before I went home.  Once I arrived back to the Brown Bungalow, I headed straight to bed leaving it up to my husband to distribute the Halloween candy that I had already placed in a bright orange trick-or-treat container on the table next to the door.  Once I took my meds, I was down for the count and really don’t recall much until the very next day.  That was when we became ‘those neighbors’. Technically, the problem started much earlier in my life when I discovered that I liked to organize things.  And, I must admit that I do have an affinity for a good label maker.  Who doesn’t?  Yes, I’m one of those people who makes a label that says ‘label maker’ just so I can stick it on the label maker.  So, when I was organizing the pantry...

31 Aug

Posted at 12:54h in A Message from Dawn, Community News, Featured Story
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Twelve. A dozen.  It works well with eggs and even Tollhouse cookies.  But, when your house turns twelve, something starts happening.  It’s been a bit like dominos falling.  One-by-one, like teenage hearts, things started breaking.  First up was our washer.  I loved that washer.  It was orange.  I love orange.  And, technically it could be fixed—but the repairman said that would cost more than a brand-new machine.  Ugh.  After washing thousands of loads of laundry and probably eating an army of socks, we had to bid farewell.  So, I told my husband that I’d be shopping for a new washer and dryer after work.  Now, all the wives reading this probably know what’s coming next.  And you’d be right.  The hubs had no idea why we’d need both a washer and a dryer—after all, the dryer was working just fine.  When I informed him that an orange washer replacement wasn’t an option, he still didn’t quite get it.  That’s right, he was perfectly fine with having a white washer and an orange dryer…as long as they both worked. Any woman with Pinterest knows that’s not happening.   So, we compromised and got a new washer and dryer.  He wanted working machines...

08 Aug

Posted at 14:45h in A Message from Dawn, Community News, Featured Story
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Eight years ago, my son’s baseball team had just played their final game of the season and we were looking for a way to celebrate their hard work all summer. In my normal go-big-or-go-home fashion, I had this wild idea that we should take the whole team and their families to an Indianapolis Indian’s game. You’ve probably been to an Indian’s game before—good, old-fashioned family fun. But, I didn’t just want them to go to see a minor league game, although I knew they’d love it. My hope was that they would get to experience some things most of this team had never experienced in their short ten years on earth. We don’t think about this much, but with 1 in 3 children living in poverty in Grant County, some of the team had never been outside of our county before. Not only had they not been to a minor league game, most had never even seen the skyline of a city like Indianapolis. Not surprisingly, they hadn’t done these kinds of things because there just wasn’t money for extravagant activities like this, which would be costly for an entire family. But, they were awesome kids and I was on a...

11 Jul

Posted at 13:14h in A Message from Dawn, Community News, Featured Story
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Some of my favorite authors have an impeccable ability to paint pictures with their words.  Roxanne Roberts is the author/artist who created this masterpiece, which actually involves paint, and I love it so much: “Think of your life as a can of white paint. Each significant experience adds a tiny drop of color: pink for a birthday, yellow for a good report card. Worries are brown, setbacks gray. Lavender — my favorite color when I was a little girl — is for a pretty new dress. Over time, a color begins to emerge. Your personality.” This week, I, and about 10,000 of my closest friends, added a few drops of red, white, and blue to our buckets of white paint as we all overtook Gas City Park on the 4th of July.  The weather was perfection for this mid-summer Concerts in the Park/Fireworks Extravaganza.  I don’t think it’s officially called an extravaganza, but it should be!  It was a spectacular event with Adam Wakefield from The Voice opening for 80’s classic rock band .38 Special and a fireworks chaser.  They were definitely Rockin’ into the Night! And, as if that weren’t enough, they had Fair Food.  Yes, yes, I know…this kind of food...

20 Jun

Posted at 10:25h in A Message from Dawn, Community News, Featured Story
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If memory and reality become confused, perhaps that’s as it should be.  I have no idea where I first heard that phrase.  With so many different mediums entering our brains these days, it’s hard to recall the source, but I like the idea. For example, I remember the time that Griffin and a couple of friends found themselves in the most massive of pickles when they handcuffed Dalton to the bannister downstairs.  OMGEEE!  Now in many households this wouldn’t be a big deal.  Those plastic handcuffs they sell at the dollar store can be broken easily.  But, when your dad is a cop, the handcuffs are real.  I had no idea where the keys were and neither did the boys.  Barring a pair of bolt cutters, those puppies weren’t coming off without the key.  There was scurrying and problem-solving and a bit of panic.  I don’t know if they were as concerned about giving Dalton his freedom or the fact that daddy was going to be home soon.  The clock was ticking! There are still a few scuff marks on the stairwell from all the finagling they did to set Dalton free that night.  Occasionally, I notice it when I go downstairs...

22 May

Posted at 11:13h in A Message from Dawn, Community News, Featured Story
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It was a Thursday night about 7:00 p.m. when my husband arrived at the MGH Emergency Room.  It wasn’t a life-threatening event, but our 2-year-old son, at the time, fell in the slippery bathtub and hit his chin just right.  Just right means a small gash that left the bathroom looking like a crime scene on CSI Las Vegas.  As a police officer, my husband works well under pressure, so he handled the blood, stitches, and tears like a champ.  He even managed to clean up the mess, give the boys a bedtime snack, and tuck them in—all before I made it home for the night.   You see, I didn’t even hear about all of the ‘excitement’ until I arrived home at about 10:30.  I was at my night class, just as I had been every Thursday night for the past two years.  It wasn’t easy getting a Master’s Degree when my kids were only 2 and 5--having a superhero husband helped. Let’s be realistic, life is messy…glitter messy.  And, frequently (read: all the time) when I was working full-time and completing my second degree, my house resembled the before picture of any home improvement show.  True, there was one time...

02 May

Posted at 11:02h in A Message from Dawn, Community News, Featured Story
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I’m always surprised when I’m out with a friend and then run into another friend, only to find out that those two friends know each other—but, I didn’t introduce them!  It’s like two of my worlds have collided and it blows my mind every single time.   But, the same thing happens when I assume everyone knows the same information that I know, when they don’t.  The most recent instance of this was at one of our Give Me Five celebrations when I was encouraging the grant recipients to attend Gas City Concerts in the Park to enjoy live music and feast on an elephant ear or a pork tenderloin sandwich.  It was then that one grant recipient said, “What’s an elephant ear?”—again my mind was blown! We make those simple mistakes often when we come from a small community like Grant County.  It’s easy to readily complain about what didn’t work or what we don’t like.  But, we completely forget to boast about what is awesome about our hometown because we just assume everyone already knows.  Alas, that’s not so. It was at this Give Me Five celebration that we hosted a couple of new Grant County residents who recently moved here...

20 Apr

Posted at 15:39h in A Message from Dawn, Community News, Featured Story
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I’m sure by now you’ve all witnessed the birth of Oliver and April’s baby boy.  This adorable calf was born at the Animal Adventure Park in New York last Saturday just as Hoosiers were rising and shining.  According to Google, there were 232 million live views of this delivery for a total of 7.6 billion minutes of live watch-time! It was over a hot cup of coffee that I watched April’s 5’9”, 129 pound newborn take his first wobbly walk within an hour of being born.  How miraculous is that?  Those unsteady strides were literally two steps forward and one step back as this confident calf was determined to get back up and try, try again. I have no idea why, but this scenario took me waaaay back to a time when I was about three years old.  This in and of itself is a mini-miracle because my memory is horrible!  But, I vividly remember living in a small farmhouse out in the country one spring when my family was planting a small vegetable garden.  I’m sure as a threenager that my attempt at ‘helping’ wasn’t all too helpful.  But, I wanted to be part of the action.  I was intrigued...

05 Apr

Posted at 14:36h in Community News, Featured Story
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The one thing that outlives us all is the legacy we leave behind. Call us to find out how you can join those who have already given through the Community Foundation using their wills, trusts, & estate plans. Your life isn’t generic. Your legacy shouldn’t be either. Watch the below to find out how you can leave your legacy in Grant County. ...