-
1 week ago | 
shawlocal.com | Scott Holland |Joan Oliver
I love to say I told you so. In July, Capitol News Illinois interviewed state Rep. Terra Costa Howard, D-Glen Ellyn, following its investigation with ProPublica (tinyurl.com/CNIhomeschool) revealing “little accountability for parents who pull their kids from school and then fail to ensure they receive an education.
-
1 month ago | 
shawlocal.com | Scott Holland |Joan Oliver
How long does it take to get a “no comment”? On Feb. 25, U.S. Rep.
-
2 months ago | 
shawlocal.com | Scott Holland |Joan Oliver
No work day is complete without a visit to CapitolFax.com, and especially the regular “It’s Just A Bill” posts. For the unfamiliar, the website comes from Rich Miller, author of a weekly syndicated column you’re hopefully reading in Shaw Local publications, along with Isabel Miller, a recent graduate of journalism programs at Southern Illinois and Northwestern universities.
-
Jan 15, 2025 | 
shawlocal.com | Joan Oliver
As hard as I try, I’ve learned that I just can’t be prepared for everything that comes up as a caregiver. I was reminded of this last week, when Tony had to make an unexpected trip to the hospital. Although Tony and I had talked many times about what his wishes are in the event of an emergency, those discussions took place years ago. Ten years after his Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis, I have a broad idea but hadn’t given the specifics much thought in a while. I had been in this situation before.
-
Jan 8, 2025 | 
shawlocal.com | Joan Oliver
Life is full of surprises. As a young person, I didn’t fully appreciate that. Where money was concerned, I did have a few guiding principles I learned from my parents. The main one was to stay out of debt. However, doing that requires more than knowing the principle. One needs to live by it.
-
Dec 4, 2024 | 
shawlocal.com | Joan Oliver
I fought the floor, and the floor won. Well, I didn’t exactly try to engage in combat with the kitchen linoleum a little over a week ago, but I found my right cheek slamming into it with considerable force. The floor, of course, was no worse for wear in the aftermath. Me, not so much. As I write this, I have the start of a black eye, and a significant bruise on the right side of my face that starts near my mouth and creeps upward. It’s a look, that’s for sure.
-
Nov 27, 2024 | 
shawlocal.com | Joan Oliver
Here we are again at the time of year when everyone pauses to give thanks and express gratitude. With all the talk about counting one’s blessings, it’s no wonder that a lot of people associate it with fake, greeting-card emotions. However, real gratitude can be the difference between happiness and despair. It also holds the key to having resilience in the face of challenging circumstances. But, Joan, how can I be grateful when my world is crumbling around me? It’s not fair. Sadly, life isn’t fair.
-
Nov 21, 2024 | 
shawlocal.com | Scott Holland |Joan Oliver
Back in the waning days of the 20th century, while serving on the high school newspaper staff, our adviser Mrs. Schneider taught me a lesson I’ve not forgotten. Faced with negative feedback from a column, I insisted the audience had missed my point. But readers’ lack of understanding, she explained, was evidence not of poor comprehension but proof the writer didn’t effectively communicate the message. In other words: write it better next time, kid.
-
Nov 20, 2024 | 
shawlocal.com | Joan Oliver
I have been a family caregiver since October 2014, when my elderly mother came to live with my husband, Tony, and me. November is National Family Caregivers Month, and I’m sharing my story to put a face to one of the many examples of family members who care for their loved ones. We moved my mother from her home in Georgia to Illinois so that we could take care of her. She had been having trouble with driving and taking care of herself, and her friends alerted me.
-
Nov 13, 2024 | 
shawlocal.com | Joan Oliver
Today is a special day. Today is World Kindness Day. Perhaps being kind shouldn’t require its own special day, but this is the world we live in. Kindness sadly isn’t practiced by everyone. One need only look at last week’s election to see what I mean. Still, most of us want to be civil, kind and empathetic. Or at least that’s what I tell myself. We want our children to learn to be kind, caring adults. To do that, we must model that behavior.
