Coffee, Laughs & Chats is a place where community stories come alive over a cup of coffee and real conversation. A platform for celebrating new voices, creativity, talent, success stories and tug-at-the heart moments that are sure to inspire. Each month, sometimes more often, you'll meet a variety of interesting people that help make our community better. From moms juggling careers, kids and piles of laundry, to entrepreneurs, community volunteers, artists, musicians, and writers, the conversations are sometimes funny, sometimes serious, but always real. 

Life, by itself, is full of anomalies. Toss in a behind the scenes look at the chaotic life of writer and suddenly you discover a paradox wrapped in caffeine, procrastination and questionable snack choices. So why write about my process? I'm not entirely sure. Maybe it's because I want others to realize it's never too late to pursue a goal, or maybe, just maybe, it's a PSA of sorts dispelling the myth that writing is somehow glamorous. Far from it, it's messy. Between inspiration and procrastination, there are moments of silence, a continuous blinking curser, a game or two of Spider Solitaire and throwing in a little chair boogie while listening to my favorite 80's song playing in the background.       

Photo attributed to FREEPIK

Celebrating one's birthday month seems to be a thing nowadays. That said, August began my birthday month. I've never been one for celebrating birthdays, and this year is no different. However, I admit the thought of turning 65 did make me wince a bit. How come I don't feel that old; mentally anyway. Physically, that's a different story. Realizing I am now Medicare official helps. Yet, I still cannot help but wonder how the time passed so quickly from 21 to 65. They say that time waits for no one, but seriously, the years flew by so fast I missed my mid-life crises!    

These days, it seems, I am hearing more and more stories from people who are thoroughly fed up with their job. When I say fed up, I'm not talking about just being upset now and then with the average day-to-day job-related responsibilities, but something much deeper and yes, more dangerous. From office work to waitressing and factory workers to housekeeping, the stories I am hearing are not contained to just one industry. Job turnover is at an all-time high.

During a recent discussion with my daughter about generational divides, the differences between Baby Boomers and Millennials piqued my interest. I wanted to learn more and, of course, another research project was underway. While the generational divide is very real; I found the differing opinions, beliefs and outlooks, from one generation to another, are not quite as different as you might think.

What is a blog? Weblogs first entered the scene in the early 90's. They were designed as a platform for individuals to be able to write and share random thoughts, stories, and ideas via the internet. The blogging arena of today has evolved. Bloggers can potentially attract thousands of followers, views and for some, generate a substantial income from advertising dollars. 

In our quest for adventure, Hubs and I decided to take a drive to the river. As we turned onto Riverside, childhood memories of Sunday drives to Dress Plaza made me smile. Although I had driven this road dozens of times, I never really thought much about it. As we drove past the plaza entrance, we could see adult swings in the distance. We knew that was our destination. Pulling into the parking lot, I heard laughter from kids playing at Mickey's Kingdom and watched teenagers attempting, what appeared to me, as death defying tricks at Sunset Skatepark. This place was no secret, I was just late to the game.  

I was always taught to respect handicapped parking spaces and restrooms designed for those with disabilities; however, it seems respect in general is no longer taught, ignored or worse, blatantly disregarded.

While reading my Facebook memories this morning, I was shocked to find that every New Year's memory had a common "do-over" theme. Whether it was the realization of the inability to reverse time or the thirst to eliminate the "do-over" thought from the future, the theme remained. I only bring this reflection to the forefront to introduce a "new and improved" New Year's theme. 

No doubt you have heard me talk quite a bit about the value of business networking; however, I have failed to explain why I am so passionate about it. So here goes.